Makers from the stars
by Demoness Kneesocks
Summary: Decepticons and Autobots have been locked in a war that's lasted for eons. Now the Cons show up again only to offline Cliffjumper. When the Autobots arrive they find out their comrade has been offlined but soon make another, more surprising, discovery. A nearly forgotten ancient faction, a retelling with Cybetronians instead of humans, old secrets and more!
1. Blast (from the past)

**Hello my fellow Transformers fans, I am here with this story after binge reading this past week.**

 **This work will not feature the humans from the show (except Fowler) but instead Cybertronians in their place. There will be also one original character and maybe mentions of some other as well but for now I want to see the reception this first chapter gets.**

 **AN: Some Cybertronian names for the humans were taken from "I really can't explain this" by CyberAngelAlexis as a sort of tribute to one of my favorite TF fics.**

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The Nevada desert seemed endless, the high temperatures and inhospitable soil held nothing for most people so the few roads that crossed it were deserted. Going further into the hostile environment one could only find rock formations of many sizes and sand for miles… at least for those who did not look closely enough or weren't looking for a certain _something_.

Out in the middle of nowhere the terrain was sunken in, the gigantic crater filled with large blue _alien_ crystals that jutted out towards the sky in all directions, a sight looking very out of place in a desert biome. They casted shadows that were gradually enlarging due to the disappearing sun below the rim of the crater and, between those small slivers of shade, a small figure darted between them with metal steps.

A small Cybertronian looked around the energon deposit, an equally small datapad on his servos as he walked between the crystals with a smile. The sun was harsh against his orange and yellow color scheme but he paid no mind to it, his visits to his Carrier at her forge back on their home planet had since long numbed him to higher temperatures. He'd always enjoyed watching as she used her bare servos to handle materials that would melt though any other bot's frame, singing random and sometimes too explicit songs in various dialects, some of which were supposed to be extinct since eons ago. It had been a joyful time, the sparklinghood of his back on their home planet, before everything went awry and the whole faction took off before the war could blow up. Sometimes he wondered what would have happened if the war had never taken place, if his faction would have remained in their limbo-like state

"You were right, this place is deserted." He commed his 'partner in crime' in a warm tone. "They still think I'm working on my console? Yes? Good, I just need to get some samples then I'll comm you for a groundbridge." Pausing to hear what his friend had to say his faceplates took on a pout the more he heard from the other end of the line. "No. No. Yes, I'll be fine. Yes, I'm sure. Yes. I just need to show I can be helpful outside the base. If someone told you you're only good for smashing stuff you'd try to prove them wrong too… Besides, it was your idea in the first place I do this." With that the comm link was closed.

After severing the call with an exasperated sigh he looked around once more. He'd always be the little one, the first safety priority above all else, because of his size. Looking towards the clear sky above him the sparkling wondered how long before he could finally do what should have been natural to him and fly upwards at immeasurable speeds with armament of his own that could take down anyone who tried to hurt his family.

Clearing his wandering processor the small mech focused once more on his task and ran up to what he'd deemed the best crystal just at one of the edges of the crater. Opening his subspace he took out an odd tool, akin to what a futuristic glass cutter merged with a gun could look like, pressed the end against the energon crystal and pulled the trigger. He removed the cutter and reached out to catch the disc-shaped blue shard that was just bigger than his servo and with a smile stored both. This new source of energon seemed to be of high quality and there was plenty of it, all they'd need to do was get to it first but, just as the small mech was about to comm his friend for a way back to their base he heard the rumble of an engine. A cybertronian engine.

"Scrap!" A squeal slipped out as he hid behind the crystal he'd been examining just in time so the heavily modified red 1970 Dodge Challenger that had just came into view at the top missed his small frame. He never thanked so much for his stature in his lifetime. Well, there had been that time in the vents but his wings had still gotten their paint scratched at the ends.

The, when it seemed like he'd just have to make a stealthy escapade from an Autobot, the worst happened. The Nemesis came into view, soaring too close for comfort to the ground and close to his hiding spot. Pressing himself against the energon crystal, almost as if to melt away into it, the sparkling slid to the ground and shrunk into a ball.

"Mayhem!" He yelled in a hushed tone into his comm. "I'm in trouble!"

"Rad, what's going on!" On the other side of the call a femme with a grey and pink coloring scheme tried her best not to panic. "Why am I seeing the Nemesis signal right on top of you?!"

"What do you think?! Add an Autobot to the mix just for 'fun' and do the math. I need to get out of here now!"

"Alright, I'm opening a groundbridge next to your coordinates."

Just as Mayhem let out her final words the giant vessel shot at the Autobot, making the ground shake, and the force of the impact launched him into a crystal. The small bot pressed his servos against his faceplate to swallow a scream and when he heard thumps not far from them and he knew Vehicons had just landed.

"Stop! The red Autobot and a couple of Deceptions are right behind me." His tone bordered on soundless. "I'll hide out here and when it's over you can bridge me." Why, oh why had he thought he could just pop into a large energon deposit and not run into trouble?

"But Rad-!" He cut her off before the end of her sentence. She knew to stick to the plan as usual and he trusted her to do so, even if thing were going from bad to worse.

"Arcee, about that backup…" The red Autobot called into what the sparkling assumed was his comm link.

Radical tried not to groan and focused on remaining completely still. Autobot reinforcements could mean a shorter battle but also a higher chance of getting spotted. When he kept hearing landing sounds of even more Vehicons he started praying to the higher power he personally knew. Doomsday. Solus would not be so kind as to help him so far away from Cybertron if she hadn't done it for his faction in all the eons they'd suffered after she was offlined.

"Fair warning boys, I'll put a few dings in ya." The Autobot said before transforming and accelerating towards the purple mechs, letting out a loud revving sound as if to assert his point.

The fight went on for what seemed joors, sounds of battle filling the small bot's audio receptors. He heard Vehicon fall after Vehicon, a good sign, but the red mech also took his fair share of blows by the sound of his pained grunts. Radical heard something about horns and the sound of blasters filled the air. His spark suddenly filled with dread, were they insane to the point of ignoring a basic rule when around combustible materials?! Firepower near energon never ended well for either side of the fight and he'd likely get caught in the mix, but that time he couldn't run away like the first time so long ago.

Gathering up all his courage he tried to convince himself nothing would go wrong and that he'd live to see his family once more, thinking he'd even give up his wings just to get out of there online.

Then there was an explosion.

Blue flames engulfed the rich energon deposit in nanokliks, throwing the small bot over the edge. He couldn't hold in his screams at the force of the impact, his wings taking the blunt of the damage from the explosion, the sensitive appendages burning hot and sending pained signals all over his frame. He cried harder at the thought of his wings becoming too damaged to ever lift him into the sky, regretting his previous thoughts of giving them up, although he knew he'd never be able to experience the feeling of freedom seekers liked to boast about. He landed painfully on top of the rocky ground and maybe bounced once or twice before he became aware of where he was.

"M-May-Mayhem…" Radical wasn't sure if he'd even activated his comm link but when he heard the sound of a groundbridge opening he let out a pained laugh along with a few relived tear. He was about to get lectured on the dangers of going out by himself by a certain white and green femme but he'd deal with it later. He heard voices but in his state couldn't differentiate them from one another and when neither Mayhem nor anyone else came up to him he got impatient. "I know I'm small but frag me flying if you can't spot the only orange thing in this mess!" Swearing, a rather nasty habit he'd picked up from his Carrier when his armor barely covered his protoform, but at that time he didn't care. It hurt to yell but the talking stopped and footsteps came in his direction. Finally! But when he felt himself being picked up and turned over what he saw froze his spark. Those were not the optics of anyone he knew.

"Optimus, tell me I'm seeing things from being grief-stricken." Five pairs of blue optics stared at the damaged sparkling in Arcee's arms, its small helm shifting from one side to another rapidly in clear distress. "Is this a…"

"Sparkling." The larger red and blue mech finished before gently kneeling down.

The others took the same action before Radical started contorting to let himself free, his actions appearing as those of a frightened lost sparkling as opposed to those of someone very well aware of their situation.

"Step back!" The white and red Autobot extended an arm in front of his comrades presenting them from leaning over their teammate. "They're clearly afraid and we have no idea where they came from. From all we know they could have escaped the Nemesis."

"You really think so doc?" It was the turn of the large green one to talk. "I know Decepticons are the worst but keeping a sparkling prisoner?"

A few beeps came from the yellow mech as he looked between Radical and where the Nemesis had appeared up in the sky.

"Bumblebee's right, with Startscream commanding the Decepticon army everything's possible." Ratchet nodded at the young scout and looked at Optimus. "Seekers are protective of their young but he's always been one for backstabbing, even his own kind."

Small digits pressed against the sparkling's faceplates in a comforting attempt from the femme's part but only served to increase his fidgeting. "Don't worry, you're safe now."

Fans going into overdrive Radical threw out the window any remaining logic he might have held. Kicking back the one holding him had the intended effect and the two-wheeler dropped him in shock at the sudden action.

"MAYHEM!" He yelled out without even activating his comm link. In a last ditch effort to put distance between him and the Autobots he crawled back on his aft, a childish maneuver but at the moment his processor couldn't come up with a better strategy.

While Arcee cradled her bruised faceplates the others could only stare at the orange sparkling attempting to escape, although his panic seemed to prevent him from reasoning cohesively.

"Is that your Carrier, little one?" Optimus leaned forward but being mindful of Ratchet's advice didn't attempt to reach for them. "Was she with you on that ship?"

"You wish, monkey wrench!" A new voice was heard along with the sound of an opening groundbridge.

An orange and black femme with blue accents came rushing out of the portal and firing shots in their direction with a very clear intent of getting them away from the sparkling. Most didn't hit their mark but she bought enough time to take out a whip and lasso the sparkling into her arms.

Radical's first reaction was to crawl up his Carrier's frame and hide behind her back among the long and numerous luminescent blue and grey 'dreads' that came from underneath her helm. "I slagged up, I'm so sorry! I just wanted to help and there was so much energon…!" He couldn't be more glad Mayhem had tattled on their plan, even if that meant she'd get an audio-full of her own Carrier's angry discourse.

"I know, Mayhem talked fast but we understood most of it." The femme didn't spare a glance at her son, keeping her optics focused on the five Autobots who had their weapons trained on her. "I'm not mad, you're old enough but you just made a bad decision. Happens to everyone."

Radical didn't say anything else, opting to cling to her frame and letting out a few sobs as the pain was beginning to register in full.

"Come on, let's get you home." She slowly backed up towards the groundbridge, her blasters ready to shoot the first bot stupid enough to follow her in or even shoot her. Autobots may have liked to appear as if justice was their end goal but she'd dealt with enough of them in the past to know factions were merely pretty labels to some individuals. "This is your only and final warning. Stay back before I tear those empty buckets you call helms from your frames." She yelled out in an attempt to avoid getting into the brewing fight. Her little sweetspark looked worse for the wear and he needed Flare to patch up whatever he'd damaged.

"Please, we don't mean you nor your sparkling any harm." Optimus put away his blasters and help up his servos in a motion to show his words carried truth. "Are you Mayhem? He called out that designation."

"Erm, boss, look at her faction." Bulkhead nodded towards the femme's chestplates. Instead of an engraved red or purple insignia a black stylized hammer was brandished on a red diamond shape in her orange armor's chestplates.

"Solus." Ratchet let out a whisper. Quickly coming to a realization he turned to the bigger mech. "Optimus, she's a-"

"I know." Even if the Autobot leaded had limited contact with them in his youth he'd recognize that insignia anywhere. "They supposedly left Cybertron just before the war began and were never seen again. Many consider them a myth at this point."

"Well they're clearly very real, considering the sparking I just held." Arcee kept her blasters aimed at her enemy's helm but didn't dare to shoot in fear of harming the small mech.

"Oh, you recognize this?" A dangerous grin formed on the femme's faceplates, more of an act than anything but her enemies didn't need to know that. "Then you know what I'm capable of." With renewed confidence she backed up further to the entrance of her way home. "This never happened, gentlebots. Forget what you've seen before I send sparkeaters to devour you." With those final words both she went into the groundbridge and disappeared along with the sparking within it.

Silence reined on the desert once more, none of the Autobots sure what to do next. They'd seen something supposedly extinct during the war and it promised to haunt them with another Cybertronian legend.

Their leader was the first to turn away. "Ratchet, open us a groundbridge back to base."

"You're not serious, are you? What we saw just now needs to be investigated before the Decepticons try and take advantage of them." If the femme's appearance was even anything to go by she wasn't just one of the normal types, she could be just as rare as red energon.

"What we saw takes second place to our mission." Looking at Arcee the large mech shook his helm. "Today we lost one of our own and we need to prepare for our next attack. The sparkling should be with his own kind now, so we have no need to hurry."

Bumblebee offered his take on the subject, gesturing to where the sparkling and who they assumed was his Carrier had disappeared. He wanted to try and find the little one again. He knew what being small and scared was like and didn't wish it on anyone else, especially someone that looked to be innocent, to bear witness the war's evils.

"Bee's right, we need to track those two down, sparkeaters or not." The wrecker banged his wrecking ball against his servo with determination. "I'd fight hordes of those things to save an innocent bot. 'Cee, you're with us on this, right?"

Looking up at her leader the femme sighed and lowered her gaze. Cliffjumper was… She'd forgotten about him in the heat of finding the sparking but the emotions were settling in. "He's our leader, it's our job to obey." She clutched the only thing left of her partner, his horn, and started walking towards Optimus. "We'll find them later."

Resigning to his superior's orders the medbot called for a groundbridge. As they left to their base he couldn't help but think about the sparkling's injuries but soon remembered who'd taken them away.

"Who knew we'd find Makers hiding away all the way on Earth."

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 **AN: As of the 5th of October 2018 this chapter was updated.**


	2. On the move

**AN:** From the limited reception of the first chapter I could tell this story has some promise so here´s an early chapter two.

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"How´s he doing?"

Ever since the Forger had brought Radical back to base he´d been in induced stasis, per Solarflare´s advice. The two femmes worked non-stop to make sure nothing had ended up out of place and to eliminate any exterior injuries that were sported by the small mech who now rested on the medical bay, back plating and wings sporting silver all over from having wounds closed up although most had been merely superficial.

Doomsday thanked Solus for the miracle that was her little warrior, the thought of having to say goodbye to her son gradually fading from her processor. She´d already lost so much up to that point in her life, her friends, her home, her hope of ever knowing what real justice was like, and saying goodbye to Radical could be the final nail in her metaphorical coffin. It was a depressing thought that one more on the death tally could be such a difference, after what had happened she should´ve felt immune to that but, being so close to someone in this way, it made her feel powerless as opposed to what her calling was in the first place.

"I´ll be honest and say if he´d been any other bot of his stature the damage could have been of the permanent type at a developmental level. Rest and checkups are all I recommend for now." Solarflare had kept close monitoring through everyone else´s recharging cycle that night. Being the only one with some sort of medical training and vorns of experience to back up on made her the best for the task, though she knew at that point their little bot was out of danger.

Solarflare was a medic by choice, having studied under the best at the Iacon Medical Center up until a certain point. She´d never managed to finish her education but left with more than enough experience to help support the Maker district and even train others to help out at the only clinic available. Her life experience was a bittersweet one, marked by ups and downs and a labyrinth only she could have navigated to raise two sparklings as a single Carrier and still be the independent and strong femme everyone knew her to be.

Leaning over the medical berth her son recharged on Doomsday bent over to rest her arms on the surface and stared at him with a semblance of a smile. "I feel like wringing out his helm, something I didn´t think could ever happen. Is this how you feel with Mayhem?" Fear was still very much present in her tone. What kind of Carrier was she to be living under the same ceiling as her son and not have noticed his regular disappearances?

"Pretty much. We´re Carriers, it comes with the job to be constantly worried, but in your case I have no idea how you always managed to take it all so lightly up until this point Mayhem is, well, Mayhem, but if it had been Silver I´d feel like that too.." The Solarflare rubbed her digits on the sides of her helm in slow circular motions and let herself lean back on the chair. "My daughter is… complicated. Had I known she´d live up to her designation I´d have picked something less… let´s settle for chaotic. If I didn´t know her Sire´s personality before the war I wouldn't know who she took after. To the Pit with it, if she wasn´t mine I´d mistake her for yours."

"I´m not really big on the grounding thing, I only know how it works because I´ve seen you do it. You could maybe discipline them as commander." The femme rubbed a few dreads between her digits, a nervous tick she´d had since an early age.

"A fancy title I never took out of my own volition. But you´re right, we are going to do something, especially since you´ve been spotted by the Autobots. Let us hope the Decepticons are still oblivious to our presence."

Doomsday let out a sigh and gave a sad smile to her friend. " _He_ ´s the problem, right?"

With a venomous glare Solarflare resisted the urge to spit out her next words. "Nothing will ever undo what _he_ did to me. To us all. The Makers had it hard enough without having to scatter across the universe just to hide from a war we had nothing to do with."

"I can already guess what must be going through those close-minded processors. They´ll think of us like scraplets. Where there´s one there could be thousands."

The seeker femme crossed her arms and thought back to her youth with a sorrowful expression. "I´d say six is a long way from thousands. We all wish there were still that many of us online."

"But there are. We´re just a little scattered." Doomsday attempted to reassure her friend. Kneeling down in front of Solarflare she looked into her friend´s optics, hoping her optimism would catch on, even if just a little.

Unfortunately the leader of their small faction had dealt with enough loss in her lifecycle to know looking at a glass as half-full in certain situations wasn´t the best option. She still felt the lingering guilt of betraying Victory´s memory like that, his frame wasn´t even cold when she´d jumped into the arms of another just to feel some semblance of comfort. "We haven´t communicated with another Maker ever since we left Cybertron. I´d say it´s about time to start losing hope."

"Flare…"

"You know it´s true."

"Doesn´t mean I have to accept it. Look at me." The blue and orange femme stood up and did a turn, arms stretched out, to show off her frame. "I´ve got more modifications than a Stunticon that I performed on myself and it shouldn´t be possible that I´d be still online."

Solarflare gave a small smile to the proudly displayed femme. "You´re a Forger, it´s in your CNA to play Primus with anything you can get your servos on."

Gesturing herself Doomsday gave a mischievous smile in return. "Most would call it playing Unicron. And I do recall a certain youngling interrupting me in the middle of frame-changing surgery and asking if I needed an assistant."

They both remembered how they´d first met. The Forger had been the only one in the district confident (crazy) enough to keep alive the tradition of frame modifications and had no shortage of clients who wished to look more a certain way or desired to have internal changes mad. Be they enhanced strength or more room for storage Doomsday was the one to go to if anyone wanted to change how they were. There had been one femme, however, who´d contemplated getting official medical training but wasn´t so sure it was possible so she did the next best thing and went to visit the resident mod expert to build up her medical expertise.

"Erm… mom?" The two Makers diverted their attention to the other side of the room where the heavy-duty seeker silently asked permission to go inside, her frame occupying the entryway. Shame was evident as her wings hanged lower than usual and she kept her servos clasped behind her back.

Even if her instincts told Doomsday to blame her son´s injuries solely on his friend the Forger knew he was old enough to take the fall for whatever reckless situations he got himself into, be it solo or group bad decisions. Gesturing for Mayhem to come inside the purple and white femme approached her and the berth her son was lying on, her footsteps quiet and gaze low.

"How´s he doing?" Asked Mayhem, afraid to even touch her friend´s servo in comfort, although she wanted to do so badly. "He doesn't look bad."

"Miraculously he´ll be fine." The younger bot turned to her mother as the older femme continued her explanation. "But surviving an explosion that size shouldn't be something he can or should attempt ever again. Or any of you for that matter. His wings aren´t as damaged as we feared but the next time he may not be so lucky."

"If he could fly…" Mayhem trailed off, unsure how to finish her statement.

"One day he will." Doomsday cut her off. Radical would one day take to the skies as a proud seeker and they´d all be there to witness his moment of triumph.

Shame returned and Mayhem looked down unwilling to meet the gaze of an angry mother. Just not her angry mother. "Yes. Of course."

An incoming transmission signal started sounding, disrupting their now awkward talk and Solarflare knew who it was. She was not looking forward to having a word exchange with _that_ man but she held no other choice.

"Call your brother and Airachnid, we need to have a meeting. Doomsday, out." Ordered the unwilling commander while pointing to the exterior of the medbay that also doubled as their control center on occasion.

With a parting kiss on her son´s helm Doomsday followed the younger seeker out to leave Solarflare alone with the still recharging Radical. Whatever _that_ man was calling over it was bound to frag them all the way to Cybertron and back, no questions about it.

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"But sir!"

"There will be no buts unless you want yours kicked onto the streets, Solarflare!"

Standing up the femme banged her servos on the panel. It was becoming obvious she had no maneuverability on the subject but she´d be dammed if she didn´t try with all her might. "We had an agreement!"

"We´ll count this as help to our country." The suited man on the screen sat behind a desk in an imposing chair but kept his back straight and his expression intimidating.

"But the Autobots-" Before the seeker could argue back she was interrupted.

"What did I say just now?"

Sitting back down Solarflare went to her next option. Reasoning. "Please understand I need to be a leader to my people and I can´t do that by doing what you´re asking."

"And I need to lead mine. You have three days to move out or else we´ll cut off your fuel supply, it´s about time that military base actually served its purpose and you lot to start pulling your weight. You know the coordinates to their base, take whatever you want with you. Good day." Within the second the call was over, leaving a very furious and perplexed Maker.

The president of the United States always looked like a reasonable individual during all their talks but also revealed himself as very resolute in his ways. She´d just experienced the last trait amped to the max with no leeway to her faction´s wishes. "Good day my aft. Victory, if you could see me now. Time to break out the news. I am not looking forward to this."

"Good news then sweetspark, you can skip that step." A familiar voice rang out from behind her and Solarflare turned around to be greeted by the three bots that were supposed to be waiting and definitely not eavesdropping. The owner of said voice waved her long spider-like limbs and grinned.

"I can´t describe how much I hate you all right now." It wasn´t often the leader experienced frustration of enough caliber to say something so harsh to her teammates.

Both Mayhem and Silverbot raised their servos and looked to the side, fighting the urge to back away like the times during their sparklinghood they´d been caught eavesdropping on adults.

Airachnid chuckled with a digit slowly tapping her dermas, her frame leaning against the door frame. "Try ancient Murion, sweetspark. So, because of two reckless sparklings we get a new home. With _them._ " She spat out the last word as if she were launching one of her poison attacks.

"They are not sparklings." Doomsday intervened. "They haven´t been that for several vorns and you know Radical hates being called that."

"And yet look what they cost us. Next thing you know we´ll be fighting Decepticons like those blind idealistic slag eaters."

"No way!" "Alright!" Both Silverbot and Mayhem exclaimed respectively.

"Mayhem! This is not a joking matter!" The bigger mech looked at his sister with incredulity. "You know if _he_ knew we were all here we´d be immediate targets and I don´t like the idea of losing you and our Carrier."

"C´mon big brother, take a good look at us. We can fight better, harder and dirtier than anyone else on this planet." Turning to Doomsday the young seeker looked for confirmation. "I´m so right, aren´t I?"

Unfortunately the Forger had drifted off into her thoughts just before, her frame shaking lightly with a few soundless chuckles. Her optics held a mischievous glint not seen since she´d left Cybertron and her previous life behind.

"Doomsday, care to share the joke with the rest of us?" Solarflare brought the mod-sporting femme back into reality and gestured for an explanation to be given.

If Cybertronians could blush Doomsday would have made a tomato jealous. "Oh… nothing." Having been called out on her drifting thoughts she mimicked the previous actions of her friend´s offspring and looked to the side.

Optic twitching once again Solarflare pressed. "Tell us, if you please."

"I was thinking back to our side careers." Admitted Doomsday with a sheepish half-smile.

With a groan Solarflare sat back down, hid behind her servos and gave a muffled command. "No, just no. Go pack, please. All of you."

Acknowledging her inappropriate thoughts the femme obeyed without objection. "On it, captain."

Silverbot backed away to leave space for the others to do the same and turned around. "I´ll go pack Rad´s stuff."

"I´ll help. Can´t forget my holopads, they´ve got lots of important memories. Also my memorabilia, my tools, my games, my- Whoa!" Silverbot yanked his sister away before their mother could blow a gasket. Mayhem wasn´t small by any means but he still managed throw her over his shoulder. Not surprisingly she kept listing her possessions excitedly, the prospect of moving seemingly not bothering her at all.

Airachnid watched the spectacle both youngsters made out of themselves and hesitated for a moment before following their path. "If I may be excused, there´s some high-grade waiting for me. Not for the move, I just want to be intoxicated enough to avoid tearing out the spark of a certain Autobot."

Watching her family go back to their quarters to retrieve whatever they could carry the seeker could only wait. She didn´t have anything special that couldn't fit in her subspace, long ago having relinquished the thought of making Earth her new home. Cybertron would always be the place for her, with all her friends, patients… and caste system. The thing she´d vowed to fight against and be sure no other bot suffered the fate of Victory. The thing that ignited the war so many lost their lives to and that pushed them out of their now dead planet to hide away on Earth.

"This won´t go well, will it?" Rising his resting place Radical slowly sat up and gently tested to feel for any pain with a few movements. The welds were holding up nicely, all he needed was to ask Mayhem for a fix on his paintjob while explaining that no, he didn´t want to change color or add new designs to his frame.

Not surprised he´d been out of recharge listening in Solarflare once again leaned back on her chain one final time and examined the ceiling with feigned interest. "As well as charging into a nest of scraplets, my dear Radical."


	3. New basemates

**AN:** Almost the length of the first two chapters combined. How I love punishing myself.

* * *

The Autobot base was abuzz with both nervousness and eagerness. Bulkhead had been pacing back and forth for the better part of the morning, Bumblebee tried to distract himself with funny internet videos and Ratchet with fixing the tools Bulkhead broke. Only Arcee and Optimus managed to go through their normal routines without much difficulty.

"Why didn´t they just groundbridge inside? They´re right there, on the other side of these walls, what´s the deal?" Bulkhead muttered to himself while making faces at the wall as if he possessed some sort of X-Ray vision.

"If you were forced to relocate would you jump right in?" Arcee asked him.

Bumblebee chimed in, backing up their teammate, nodding in understanding.

The green wrecker though about it for a moment before giving up on his fruitless attempt of gazing through the wall. "Yeah, that does make sense."

Ratchet surveyed the younger bots before going back to his attempt at fixing some sort of machinery that appeared to have been torn apart and then crushed. "Optimus, are you sure we´ll be able to work with them?" Asked the medbot, pausing midway through welding two parts together.

He was well aware of the power imbalance the new arrivals would very likely cause within team Prime. Back before the war Makers had been renowned for rejecting most forms of governmental regulations, opting for information scavenging as a means of bribery for the Cybertronian Council. It made it a lot easier when a handful of senators would make regular visits and consume large amounts of high-grade, leaving them as prime subjects for information extraction.

A worried frown started making its way onto the leader´s faceplates before he quickly regained control. "I cannot say for certain, old friend, but we´ll try our best to do so."

When Optimus had been personally contacted by the president after submitting a report new Cybertronians the whole team knew nothing good could come out of it. Now not only were they getting new addition to their base they´d been promised said additions would help in the fight against the Decepticons. Unfortunately he too knew they type of bots they´d be dealing with from then on out. It seemed it had been just a few deca-cycles ago he´d received the news of his intended sparkmate´s involvement with the Maker faction and his swift refusal that she would ever have had any contact with _that_ type of bots.

The sound of the exterior door opening and closing caught the entire team´s attention and various voices fill the hallway. One stood out above the rest, but it was different than the one they´d expected, pointing and aweing at how much bigger their new home was. Five bots came into view, four femmes and a sparkling. From the looks of them two of the femmes were seekers, a heavy-type and a speed type…and were the only normal ones. The scary purple and black spider-like one didn´t show what she could turn into and the one that had shot at them at the blown up energon deposit, now that they got a better look, had neither wings nor wheels.

"I thought there were two." Ratchet was not liking the surprise. While they hadn´t specifically been told how many Makers would be joining them they´d assumed it were at most three, two adults and one sparking, not an extended family from what they could see.

A deadpan tone from Arcee answered the medic´s complain. "Didn´t you ever hear the saying? Makers multiply." She too was feeling the same disdain for the lack of information given about the group coming into their base.

The orange and yellow sparkling waved a greeting. "I´m Rad. Sorry for the other day, I was just really scared." Is tone was very much carefree for someone who´d just recently kicked one of the Autobots in the helm and they´d head curse.

"Whoa. How come their base is better than ours?" The purple and white seeker with pink accents started looking looking around in awe but stopped when her optics locked onto the big green bot and in an instant was in front of him, her frame proving to be bigger than his by a few inches. "I´m Mayhem. Who are you?"

"Bulkhead."

"Are you a wrecker? I can tell you are, you frame just screams it. What´s the heaviest you´ve lifted? Do you want to see my hammer? No, wait-"

Even if she was shorter than her offspring Solarflare managed to yank back the overexcited Mayhem with the momentum of a jump. "I´ll take it from here before you talk his audio receptors off." Straightening up the white and green seeker looked over the entire Autobot tem. "You already know Radical and Doomsday." She gestured towards the smallest bot riding the shoulders of the heavily modified femme. "The one over there is Airachnid." A sluggish wave and unfocused optics greeted the perplexed Autobots, animal-type frames had always been seen as eccentric, especially nightmare-inducing ones. "I´m Solarflare and Mayhem is mine along with Silverbot." Taking a look behind her the Maker leader called out to her son. "If he were to come out."

"So I can be shot at?" Was the answer she got and Solarflare felt the urge to drag him out like when he´d been a sparkling.

"You´ll have to come out at some point."

With a resigned sigh the last Maker came out from hiding behind the wall. His tall frame stood above even Optimus, his frame looking very much heavy-duty but also sporting wings and what looked like tank treads. Silverbot looked anywhere but at the ones gawking at him, uncomfortable with being scrutinized by what he was. "Take a picture, it lasts longer." He said, not moving from his further away spot.

"By Primus. But he´s a-"

"Triple-changer, yes." Solarflare cut Ratchet off by finishing his sentence. Remembering one of her favorite ice-breaker lines from back when they´d still been living in Cybertron Solarflare added. "You should´ve seen his Sire."

Mayhem looked back at her brother and thought of a way to make him seem less threatening and more like the bot he really was. "You don´t need to be afraid." Sauntering over to her brother she pulled him close for a hug, making Silverbot raise his arms and look at with a ´Really?´ expression, and smiled up to him. "He only looks scary but he´s got the spark of a great mech."

"Would you please let go of me?"

Giggling she complied with her brother´s request and gestured up and down as to drive home her statement with the biggest smile on her faceplates she could muster.

"Can we leave now? Preferably back home." Silverbot pleaded.

"Are you insane? I´m living a dream here in Botswana and I won´t allow you or anyone else to shatter it."

The Autobot team watched as the two siblings bickered among themselves with curious optics, seeing a triple-changer and a heavy-duty seeker have a back-and-forth looked like the beginning of a bad joke come to life. The femme opened her arms again and the mech tensed up, as if preparing to make a run for it and not amused by his sister´s antics.

Ratchet, still unsure if he was looking at reality of had just consumed a bad batch of energon, could only try to decipher what had just fallen onto their laps. "Optimus, with all due respect I don´t think this partnership will work, orders from the government or not." He commented to his old friend, who, after overcoming the surprise factor, seemed… happy?

Seeing a simple argument between siblings warmed the Prime´s spark. It had been so long since any sense of normalcy had been the norm and witnessing what was regarded as a mundane occurrence gave him the tiniest bit of hope for the future of Cybertron. Even if they were Makers.

An alarm started ringing though the base, green lights flashing along with it. Ratchet took his place at the console and started pressing buttons with practiced knowledge. He´d known it was only a matter of time before they received a visit because of the Makers. And also because of the recent destruction cause by a Decepticon chase.

"What´s that?" Asked Silverbot with worry.

Bumblebee was quick to the punch and gestured to the console and explained what the noise meant with a series of beeps. Jumpy triple-changers were trigger-happy triple-changers, they´d told him in the academy.

"Proximity sensor. Someone´s up top." Radical lit up. "I wanted to install one at the base but they never let me do it."

"You totally could have done it if you wanted to, sweetspark. You can do whatever you processor conjures up." Doomsday reassured her son and looked up at him with a smile. He may not have been able to do _certain_ things but she´d always encouraged him on his talents.

Ratchet pulled up the video-fee of a helicopter landing on the screen. His guess had been right on the nose. "Agent Fowler."

"A human? Here?" Solarflare was not used to dealing with the planet´s native dominant species in person. Except for a handful of occasions during the time they´d been hiding on Earth there had never been the need to meet a human beyond a video-call.

"Special agent Fowler is our designated liaison to the outside world, as he tends to visit only when there are issues. You will have to meet him, as he will represent you as well from now on." Optimus beckoned the Maker leader to approach the platform with the elevator, his team moving to the sides to let their leader handle the human man coming down for a ´talk´.

When the elevator doors opened a black man decked in a blue suit and striped tie came out and did not waste any time in taking up the theme of his visit. He´d been seeing red ever since the damage report hit his desk and did not fancy another talk-down from his smug superiors on how if the so-called Decepticon threat failed to annihilate the planet the Autobots would finish the job in no time.

"Seven wrecks, thirty four fender benders, a three hour traffic jam and a particular note: numerous reports of a speeding motorcycle of unknown make and a black and yellow custom muscle car." He was so concentrated on berating the huge robot in front him he neglected to notice the other one just to the left, or even the ones just seeing him for the first time, while leaning over the railing. "So anything you care to get off your tin chest, Prime?"

Optimus leaned in as well to look the government agent in the eyes. "We have the situation under control, Agent Fowler."

"They´re back, aren´t they?"

"If you are referring to the Decepticons I have doubts they ever left. Your planet is much too valuable."

"Then it´s time to wake up the pentagon."

"Hear me, Agent Fowler, we are your best, possibly your only defense against the Decepticon threat."

"Says you."

"Says your president." Solarflare grew tired of being in the sidelines. Her leadership may have started unwillingly but she´d be dammed to let someone else take over the last bots she considered to be her family.

Startled, Agent Fowler finally took notice of the other giant robots amongst the Autobots. (Did those wings mean they were flyers? Weren´t all Decepticons just that? What were they doing there?) "What the…? Prime, how come there´s more of you and where did they come from?!" The distressed man looked between the team leader and all the new faces (faceplates?).

"Excuse me, Agent Fowler, was it? I was talking to you so please do not ignore me." She really wasn´t liking her first meeting with the human that was to represent them from then on out.

"Well then, who are you?"

"Solarflare, Mayhem, Silverbot, Airachnid, Doomsday and Radical." Solarflare pointed to each in a fast sequence. "Maker faction. We´ve been on this planet longer than any of your walking disasters and have been a more well-kept secret since day one. I do believe if you were to contact your superiors our presence will not be unexpected, your president was very adamant on our forced help and non-optional refusal."

"Please, if something of this magnitude landed on my lap I´d know about it. There was nothing on my desk about six new giant robots so that can´t possibly be true."

"Check your spam." Radical and Mayhem stated at the same time. "What?" They asked when the others looked at them.

"That has got to be the most…" Taking out his phone Agent Fowler grumbled but still humored the two new walking disasters that were now supposedly of his responsibility. It was only until he actually found something that very much should have been on his inbox that his eyes started to widen as he read along the very clear text declaring the ´Makers´ his new charges. "Well, erm… Yes… Subject transfer… Military resources… And whole lot of disciplinary actions against me should I fail to keep the new robots from causing too much damages. Oh joy, I feel like this is some sort of a a demented version of Christmas."

"I told you guys we´d get to fight!" Mayhem looked over to her brother and shot him an ´I told you so´ smile.

"Frag me." Airachnid took out an energon container from her subspace and started emptying it with vigor before Doomsday set her son down snatched the cube from the spider-femme´s servos to drink whatever was left of it.

Shaking the last drops onto her glossa the Forger gave a contented sigh. "You´re not the only one with high-grade problems. I need this too, you know?" She handed over the cube back to her multi-legged friend who snatched it right back with a huff and stored it. That had been her last batch.

"High-grade? You drink that stuff?" Bulkhead was surprised. Due to their constant battles and need to be ready at all occasions any type of _recreational_ substances were off-limits.

"We make it, my new green friend. What´s a Maker without entertainment?" Doomsday laughed but it was not a result of the high-grade. Her resistance to that energon type was high enough for her to have won many bets in the past with bots twice her size.

Ratchet frowned. "A very dangerous individual." He´d known sooner or later the faction´s true colors would show and he didn´t want them to spread over to his teammates.

"Oh, so you know what we very likely did before abandoning Cybertron. Personally, might I ask?" The spider-like femme placed her servos on her hips, one pede in front of the other. Her heel struts helped make her seductive point come across.

"Humph, as if I´d ever use personal time to dabble in such things."

"Well, one can´t remember every face they see at work. How about you, big guy?"

The wrecker looked lost, unsure what the medic and the femme were referring to. "Sorry, can´t say I know what you´re talking about."

"You must be post wrecker ban. Too bad, you guys dropped shanix like crazy after a big payday."

Agent Fowler watched the interactions go back and forth until he decided it was enough and explanations were in order. He had a basic understanding of Decepticon and Autobot but these Makers were uncharted territory. For all he knew they could be even worse in the destruction department. "Solarflare, care to explain what´s going on?"

Taking a look at her friends Solarflare felt her optic twitch in annoyance. Back on Cybertron she´d have no qualms on announcing her line of work but human customs proved to be more critical of her side-career. "I´d prefer not to and that my teammates kept their intake holes shut."

"They used to be the equivalent of what humans would refer to as ´call girls´." Arcee chimed in with a nonchalant air to her statement.

The agent´s jaw nearly touched the floor and he had to take a few seconds to compose himself. "Come again?" He wondered if he was finally needing a hearing aid or the words ´call girl´ had actually been spoken. For the first time in his life he wished he was just getting old.

"Actually it would be more of ´high end escorts´. Not everyone was willing to jump on the berth of a random bot, a lot of us just got paid to talk." Doomsday quickly rectified the blue femme´s statement. It would make a very bad first impression if Solarflare burst out on their first meeting.

"But we were not the second type."

"Airachnid." Warned Solarflare.

"Fine. We as in me and Doomsday. Mayhem, Silver and Rad were always too young to even think about it. But you could make bots drop shanix with those hips of yours on stage. Both your sweetparks didn´t have any qualms about it either."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Prime, are they telling the truth?" Now it was time for Agent Fowler to panic. Not only did he have more walking destruction-causing giant robots the older ones had made whatever passed as Cybertronian currency (shanix, was it?) with what he was learning to be the oldest profession in the Universe.

"Yes, Agent Fowler. From my understanding Makers had a sort of separate society and took advantage of their high femme numbers in many ways." The Autobot leader knew there was no denying a fact that would have sooner or later come to the table.

"We´re sending naughty entertainers to fight in a war?! Are those guys crazy?"

"Please remain calm. My team was not originally built for war and yet we´ve defended your planet on numerous occasions. They could be even better suited for this type of situation, Makers were renowned for their battle prowess. At one point a Maker was the best gladiator in all of Cybertron."

"Before he got shot in the back by coward Autobots." Loudly proclaimed Silverbot. He´d been watching the fight in person when said gladiator fell to a rigged match.

"Silver, please." Solarflare knew _he_ was a sensitive topic and wished to avoid it at all costs, especially in front of the Autobots. "Now´s not the time."

With a half-hearted wave the triple-changer turned away towards the entrance. "I´m going for a drive. Or flight. See you later."

"Stop right there, you can´t just leave whenever you feel like it." Arcee approached the taller bot with a resolute gait and had to stop herself from flinching when he turned back to lean over her. "Like it or not Optimus is now your leader as well and you need to start listening to orders."

"Who´s going to stop me? Any volunteers may step forward." The mech looked around, as if to dare one of the Autobots to stand in his way. Silence was his only reply but when Fowler was about to cut in Solarflare lifted a digit in front of him and shot the man a look that asked for him to stay silent and not add fuel to the flames.

"I thought so. The day I start taking orders from an Autobot will be…never."

The others watched Silverbot disappear behind the wall once again before a transformation and jet engine sounds were heard, signaling his disappearance into the Nevada desert. The Makers knew to leave him alone at times like those, any attempt at interference would be better spent at arguing with a wall. At least the inanimate slab of concrete would stay put.

"Sooo… where can we settle in?" Mayhem tried, and failed, to relieve some of the tension. She wanted badly to chase after her brother however, in a rare decison, reeled in her impulses.

Solarflare gazed with sorrowful optics at the exit. Those actions mirrored hers in the past almost too perfectly. "Please don´t mind my son, Agent Fowler. He just needs some time to process this."

"Well if he does half the damage this lot does I´ll call it a win."

"Hey fleshie, anyone get splattered on that freeway?" Bulkhead ripped a piece of machinery apart from a nearby Cybertronian-sized table and held it tightly. "Team Prime knows when to use force." He squeezed the metal tightly until it broke even more. "And how much to use."

Ratchet let out a complaint when the green bot destroyed his equipment. "Bulkhead, I needed that! And I was fixing it!"

"Enough." Quieting his quarreling fellow Autobots, Optimus turned back to Agent Fowler. "As I was saying military involvement will only result in catastrophe. Perhaps you can condone widespread human casualties, Agent Fowler, I, however, cannot. With the Maker as reinforcements we will drive back the Decepticon invasion once and for all this time around."

"Then do us both a favor Prime and handle this. Under the radar. Ma´am." Nodding towards Solarflare the man turned to leave. Getting into the elevator he pressed a button and left all the bots with a final warning before the doors closed. "Or I will."

"Pretty big bearings, for a human." Commented Bulkhead after the human left.

"Agent Fowler is concerned for his world, Bulkhead. As he should."


	4. Uncomfortable is key

**AN:** Not much happens as of yet but it´s a necessary precursor for the closer for this first part of the story.

* * *

When a signal that should have been silenced forever appeared on one of the console´s screens Ratchet was ready to throw a fit. It was bad enough they´d lost one of their own but for the primitive technology they were working with to remind them made him want to pull a Bulkhead and break something.

"Blasted earth tech. Cliffjumper´s signal popped back online." He complained to the other bots.

"Who´s Cliffjumper?" Asked Mayhem while leaning over to peer at the screen. Solarflare gently elbowed her to remain still, but that didn´t mean she couldn´t attempt to get a peek at the action.

Optimus unconsciously took a few steps forward in curiosity. He´d been positive they´d never see their fallen teammate again. "How is that possible?"

"It isn´t. Another bug. The system´s chock-full of them." The medbot gestured with a sour face to the crude version of a bridge they´d been forced to use since arriving on Earth.

Radical darted between the legs of team Prime and stopped right on front of the controls, craning his neck upwards to try and get a better view. "Let me take a look, we barely had problems with ours."

"Step away from our equipment, youngling. You´re much too you to use it properly." Ratchet stepped in front of the small bot. The equipment was already crude at best, no need for tiny little digits messing around with it.

"If there´s any chance Cliff´s alive…" Arcee wasted to believe. If there was even the smallest chance her friend was alive she wanted to do everything to get him back home to them.

"Ratchet, prepare the sickbay. We may need it." The Autobot leader instructed their medic. They were about to go on a, very likely, dangerous rescue mission.

"Hey!" Mayhem position herself right in front of Optimus and looked expectantly into his optics while flashing her sweetest smile. Could this be her first mission? Rescue a fellow bot from the claws of the Decepticons? She could prove her fighting skills right there on the field against hordes of Vehicons! "What can we do?"

"Remain with Ratchet." Was the underwhelming response the seeker got before Optimus headed towards the groundbridge.

"Aww."

Ratchet gave a loud sigh at the prospect of babysitting duty. There he was, a capable medic trained by the best and a war veteran stuck looking after a bunch of unpredictable Makers with a triple-changer that could return at any given moment and a too-curious-for-his-own-good seekerlet. He onlined the groundbridge with the thought that the sooner the others left the sooner they´d return.

"Autobots, roll out." Called Optimus while making a short run to the bright green portal and transforming into his alt-mode along with his warriors, leaving to the prospective rescue of Cliffjumper.

Once again Mayhem ´awwed´ but this time it was directed at the white and green seeker. "Mom, how come you don´t have a cool catchphrase like that?"

"She does! It was-" Airachnid started before Doomsday came up from behind her and clamped a servo around her faceplates, cutting her off before she could even get halfway through her sentence.

"You´ve done your part for the day. And stop trying to bite me." The Forger help up her servos and backed away shortly after from the struggling purple femme before she got either bitten or stabbed by one of the spider arms.

With a huff Airachnid shot Doomsday a dirty look. "I ought to gouge your optics out for this."

Solarflare resisted the urge to hide behind her servos and decided it was time for a change on the conversation subject. "Could we use the bridge to visit Cybertron? There´s some things the Makers stashed away before leaving Cybertron that could be useful."

"Negative." Answered Ratchet before turning to work on the control panel. "Since we don´t currently possess the means or the energon required for intergalactic travel…"

"You´re stuck here… like us." Finished Mayhem.

"With the likes of you, yes."

Seemingly unaffected by the unspoken insult the purple and white femme pressed on. Approaching some human-sized equipment she knelt down and examined it with curious optics before pointing at the mess of cables. "What is this anyway?"

"Broken, don´t touch." Grumbled the medic before an error message appeared on one of the screens and he had to hold himself from using some rather _colorful_ language. "Keep your servos off our equipment. All of it."

Radical took another change to approach the bigger mech at the console and get a better look at what was happening. "How come you´re using human computers?"

"It certainly isn´t by choice, it was handed down from the previous tenants when we inherited this former missile silo." The Autobot proclaimed a little smugly at displaying his resourcefulness. "I make modifications as I see fit." A dozen more error textboxes took up all the screens a soon as he finished his sentence. A surprised look took over his faceplates before going back to his usual scowl. He needed to fix whatever was happening before the others commed for a groundbridge back to base.

"I think I can fix that." Radical approached the command station, pulled a cable from his wrist and connected it to a port.

Ratchet watched the sparkling plug himself directly into their systems with surprise, but if the Forget was in fact his Carrier it than explained the more than direct approach. "Really? I know this is complex technology, don´t you? I mean it isn´t a sparkling´s toy."

A part of Radical´s forearm slid open to reveal a keypad and he hummed while pressing a few keys. The error number told him it was one of the simpler types of bugs and easily fixed. A few short moments later he closed the panel back up and disconnected the cable. "Now try."

Still doubtful, Ratchet turned back to the screens and was greeted with all the error text boxes disappearing to leave the machine to resume its normal function. "How did you…?" In his surprised state the medbot couldn´t help but let slip verbal proof of his surprise. The sparking had actually managed to fix the bugs in record time.

Radical swung back and forth on his pedes, servos clasped behind his wings, with a knowing smile. "You´re not the only one with groundbridge building experience."

Doomsday knelt down and affectionately rubbed her faceplates against her son´s, her actions being received with an equal mix of embarrassment and pride. He may not have been battlefield material but he could always help with the more technical aspects back at the base. "That´s my pride and joy." She proclaimed.

Ratchet watched in fascination at the affection display between Carrier and sparkling. It had been so long since he´d even seen such a pair, let alone both sharing such a tender moment. The war had taken so much from everyone and with sparklings possessing weaker armor and protoforms out of all Cybertronians any caught in the crossfire had their spark snuffed faster than a field medic could get to them. He had his fair share of teammates offline on both is operating table and arms but when those fragile flames of life went out they hit him harder than any weapon ever could.

"Ratchet, bridge us back!" Optimus´ comm call brought the medic out of his thoughts and he quickly turned back to the controls. "Use the arrival coordinates… NOW!"

The groundbridge came to life and the Autobots all came out at an accelerated speed, the familiar blue glow of an energon explosion on their tail justifying why they were in such a rush. Ratchet killed the power to the portal as soon as everyone was back before the flames could go through, a second too late and someone´s afplate could´ve ended up a little melted.

"Whoa." Awed Mayhem and Radical.

"Cutting it a bit close. How about Cliffjumper?" Asked Ratchet, not having seen their teammate come though the portal along everyone else. The signal must´ve turned out to be a bug after all. They´d ended up almost offlined in an energon explosion because of primitive Earth technology.

Optimus, Bumblebee and Bulkhead looked down dejectedly. They´d all seen their former teammate fall down into a pile of energon crystals right before Starscream dropped the bomb that set of the explosion and flew away. None wanted to admit they´d lost Cliffjumper for a second time in such a short timeframe.

Not taking the time to even read the room Mayhem jumped in, the fraction of the action she´d seen having ignited her adventurous spark. "Man, you guys sure love blowing up stuff! Next time can I come with?"

Arcee appeared from behind Optimus snarled. Even with a smaller frame type the blue femme knew how to command respect by means of intimidation, causing the seeker´s wings to immediately drop in surprise.

"Mayhem, a little restraint if you please. I´d remember if I hadn´t taught you that." Solarflare chided her daughter. Her younger offspring had always lacked some capability to filter both her actions and words and now that they were in the company of non-Makers it would be important to exercise even more restraint.

"Arcee, what did you see?" Optimus wanted to know why Arcee had looked so surprised just before letting go of Cliffjumper. She would have never done that on purpose so why had it happened?

Hugging herself close the two-wheeler though back to the demon wearing her best friend´s face. "Not Cliff. At least not anymore. He was mutated… butchered. Like something from those Con experiments during the war." The femme emitted a noise distressingly similar to a computer powering down and fell to her knees, barely managing to remain upright by propping herself up on a nearby crate.

Bumblebee beeped gently and offered to assist his teammate.

"I´m fine. Just dizzy."

Paying no mind to her rejection the scout still helped Arcee to sit down on the crate instead of remaining leaning against it.

Mayhem, now ashamed of her outburst, picked up radical and held him close in her arms close enough to whisper into his audio receptors. "Rad, didn´t you say the Bot you saw was red?"

"Yeah." The smaller seeker was confused at the question until realization dawned upon him. The mech who´d interrupted his specimen hunt had been Cliffjumper, of course. How could he have forgotten the one who´d caused the explosion that could´ve taken his wings?

"We didn´t see anyone matching that description here, did we?"

"Now we know who Cliffjumper was."

Ratchet had went to pick up one of his tools while Bumblebee helped Arcee steady herself and started scanning the femme for any injuries soon after. He reached for her left servo when the scans accused an unknown substance, a sickly purple hued stain marring the top of her left servo.

The medic stared at the unidentifiable dark substance. "What is this?" He couldn´t recognize it no matter how much he racked his processor for anything even close to what he was seeing.

"Don´t know. Cliff was covered in it. Leaking it."

Ratchet took a sample for further examination and decided the best course of action was to eliminate any residue off Arcee´s frame. "Go take a decontamination bath. Now." If it was organic there was a high change she´d not be affected but if it was of Cybertronian origin… The Cybonic Plague came to mind and he shuddered at the dark thought.

Bumblebee put a servo on Arcee´s back and helped her to do as the medbot instructed. If she was dizzy the fall could put the dents in her the Vehicons didn´t get the chance to.

"I hate to barge in this delicate time but I hope you haven´t forgotten about us." Airachnid called from her perch atop of a pile of crates. It was in her programming to seek more enclosed spaces, more open ones made her feel exposed, vulnerable. While she didn´t still have her quarters assigned at the new base she figured to go for higher ground as a compromise.

The Autobot leader nodded towards the multi-legged femme. "Almost, but not quite. I will be assigning members of my team to pair with some you during a trial period of time. Just until you all can get settled in, of course. Bulkhead, Mayhem will de under your watch."

"Awesome!" Mayhem fist pumped into the air. She couldn´t wait to have a sparring match against the wrecker.

"No funny business." Solarflare warned both her daughter and her temporary guardian of sorts. More her daughter than him.

"Aww." That got Mayhem an authoritative look. "I mean, yeah, of course. Naturally. Sure thing."

"Just like Flare." Airachnid whispered into the air and got a hushed giggle as a response from the Forger while Solarflare clenched her servos in annoyance.

"Bumblebee, you´ll watch over Radical and Doomsday." The scout got a friendly wave from the seekerlet still in the arms of the heavy-duty seeker and a smile from the Carrier. "Ratchet."

"Busy." The medic had chosen to turn to look at a monitor moments before, wanting to avoid any responsibility in the mess he predicted would occur with any Maker he´d be assigned to.

"Airachnid, if you don´t mind." Responded Optimus, unfazed at the response of his friend.

"I do mind. I have work to do. Like figuring out what Arcee brought with her."

"Oh do cheer up, I´ll only bite if you ask. Not that you could afford it but still." Airachnid couldn´t resist pushing the medic´s buttons and got the expected grumbled response. Oh, she might have had to share the same base as _that_ wrenched bot but she could make it tolerable somehow.

Glancing at the two-wheeler coming out of her decontamination Optimus handed out the last available charge. "Arcee, I know he´s not here but you´ll be in charge of Silverbot."

"Whoa, still dizzy." The femme gave a distinctively fake swoon at the task handed to her.

"You´re fine, say´s your physician." Ratchet gave a thumbs up with his back turned to her, not wanting to have a triple-changer as a charge. He´d take the spider-femme over that mech any day.

"Well, I can´t do that if he´s not here, can I?"

"Oh, Silver´s on the roof." Mayhem pointed upwards. "He never goes far when he has an argument. He´d always end up moping on the roof back on our base and I bet if you pull up the surveillance from up top you´ll see I´m right."

Ratchet stopped what he was doing to follow Mayhem´s suggestion and lo and behold there was Silverbot sitting on the edge of the cliff that hid their base. He had his back turned to the camera but the previously held tension could barely be seen, although still noticeable in his stiffly upright wings.

"You can go talk to my brother if you wanna, he´s probably cooled off enough by now."

"And say what?" What could one say to an angry triple-changer without the promise of a few dents?

"How about ´Hi, I´m Arcee. We´ll be seeing each other a lot more often so I´d like to get along.´?"

"I´m babysitting him, not trying to pick him up."

"Arcee, if you´d please and go have a talk with him." Optimus encouraged the femme but he knew she´d perceive his request as an order.

With a grumble to rival Ratchet´s she headed up to have the most uncomfortable talk she never wanted to have. "Fine. But if he throws a punch I won´t hold back."

"My warning also stands for you." Called out Solarflare before Arcee disappeared from view.


	5. We re not so different

**AN:** This chapter is on the smaller side but I decide to keep it as it is as the next part would feel out of place here.

* * *

When Arcee got to the top she immediately spotted Silverbot. He was sitting on the edge, leaning back supported on his servos with his legs dangling over the cliff. She could tell he wasn´t interested in her visit since he was still concentrated in the sunset and didn´t spare her a glance.

"What do you want?" There was a lazy undertone to the mech´s question. He really wasn´t interested in having a conversation at the moment.

The two-wheeler exhaled a little too forcefully and approached the Maker, decided in getting the introductions over with the fastest as possible so she could go recharge in peace. "Look, I´m only here because Optimus assigned each one of us to a different Maker and I got stuck with you. I lost Cliffjumper for the second time today, I´m not exactly in a talking mood, you know?"

Silverbot finally looked back at the Autobot and raised an optic ridge. "What, the red bot Rad said though it was a good idea to open fire near energon?"

That tone had gotten under the femme´s armor and she raised her servos in a quitting gesture. "You know, I´m trying to be civil but clearly it´s not working." She turned and started walking back to the base entrance. She´d just wasted her time on someone clearly not worth it.

"Please, wait." Those words made the femme stop on her tracks but she still didn´t look back. Silverbot knew they were all expected to be civil around the Autobots but there was a part of him that struggled to accept reality. "Will you please sit down?"

"Why? So we can insult each other?"

"Solus, you are so stubborn. I´m trying to say I´m really sorry for your loss."

Arcee turned around swiftly at the apology. How dare he?! "What could you possibly know about loss?"

"Please, as if you´re the only one with problems."

"I fought in a war while you hid away from Cybertron."

At the mention of the still ongoing war the triple-changer stood up and slowly walked over to the smaller femme. "A war where the side that claimed to fight for justice wanted to keep the caste system in place as an end goal."

"No they didn´t! Optimus became a Prime, he wouldn´t have stood for it." He´d just insulted the side she was ready to be offline for. The one Cliffjumper was offlined for.

Silverbot almost anted to laugh at her naivety. He may have been bigger in every sense of the word but she as still older than him and, unfortunately, less knowledgeable of how Cybertron had really worked back in the day. "Can you really believe that? That if the Autobots had won the war back in the day the Council wouldn't have proclaimed that the caste system was in place for a reason and tightened it even further? I guarantee you if Optimus had fought it he´d have ended up like my Sire: a shot to the back by a cowardly Council puppet."

Arcee was taken back at the admittance of the theory she´d had since he stormed out after mentioning of the famous Maker gladiator. "So I was right, you are Victory´s son."

The mech huffed and crossed his arms. "Haven´t made much of an effort to hide it my whole life to begin with." He looked away to the side, not focusing on anything. Why had he steered the conversation towards his Sire? He´d always hated thinking about him as offline, preferring to focus on the small window of time that he spent as a sparkling with the only other triple-changer he´d ever met.

"From what I heard he was an amazing gladiator." The blue femme awkwardly told him, having had the wind taken out of her sails. She´d accused him of not understanding loss just moment ago, what else could she say?

"He had incredible language skills too, you know? Only Makers remember him outside the arena." Silverbot took a softer tone with the new information he was telling her. "That´s the problem with triple-changers, you get the least bit violent, just raising your voice will do the trick, and that will be all everyone stores in their processor. We´re not allowed the luxury of getting frustrated or annoyed without being perceived as a threat."

"I can´t imagine what´s it like no being allowed to get angry. Mainly because every time I did no one would take me seriously and just think I was cute." Arcee though back to her younger days as a recruit. Her superiors barely paid mind to her or any suggestion she may have had, dismissing her smaller frame in lieu of her bigger, stronger teammates.

"I´m sorry. You know. For my first impression."

"No, it´s… it´s alright. To be honest I came up here expecting you to still be angry at being forced to move and maybe get into a fight."

"We´re all not exactly thrilled at the prospect of sharing a base with Autobots but a good Maker will adapt to any new situation. I acted without thinking before."

The two bots stayed in a somewhat comfortable silence before Silverbot sat down cross-legged to better face the Autobot who´d be in charge of him. She was small but he knew never to underestimate someone despite their size, Radical came to mind for confirmation on that.

Arcee thought back to something she´d been told before going up to meet with the mech. "By the way: hi, I´m Arcee. We´ll be seeing each other a lot more often so I´d like to get along." Silverbot looked confused before she elaborated. "Your sister told me to use that."

The triple-changer shook his helm and chuckled in amusement. "I believe you. Word of advice from someone who´s known Mayhem her whole life: she may be a bit annoying but knows more than she lets on."

Arcee had figured as much when the seeker could barely stand still the whole time. Flyers were supposed to be calmer and more focused than grounders "Noted. How do you resist her more, erm, annoying moments?"

"You don´t." Silverbot laughed at Arcee´s comical distressed face at his revelation. "She either finds something else to focus on and leaves you alone or you two end up sparring until she gets tired enough."

"I trust you speak from experience?" She would have to choose her moments around Mayhem, her tolerance for fooling around was not exactly on par with the seeker.

"She´s knocked me down a good amount of times but I also get a few good shots in too."

Arcee felt relieved when being told her team wouldn´t be working from the ground up in order to get the Makers out on the field to fight against the Decepticons. "I think the Autobots can rest easier knowing you all have some sort of combat experience."

"Some sort? Just until you see Airachnid and Doomsday double-team an opponent and then tell me they weren´t born to kick aft." He remembered fighting against the older femmes when he first began his combat training. They were fast and deadly when put together and he thanked Solus he´d never been in a real fight against them. Triple-changer or not they´d hand his aft to him in a sparkbeat.

"What´s the deal with Airachnid anyway?" Asked the two-wheeler at the mention of the more eccentric looking Maker. "I´ve seen a few bots with more ´out there´ frame modifications but she took it to the next level. Did Doomsday do that?" It had become clear the femme with long dreads was a Forger when closely examined. She´d been told stories as a sparking of Cybertronians with an innate skill to create anything deemed impossible and were speculated to have descended from Solus herself or even created by her.

"She secretly wishes that had been her handiwork to this day." Silverbot though back to when his Carrier told him he´d first met Airachnid. He´d been a young sparkling back then and apparently had taken a long time for him to stop crying. "No, Airachnid had an unfortunate accident when she was younger and came out looking like that."

Now she was curious. An accident could leave a bot with a lot of patchwork on their frame, not add extra limbs and completely remodel everything. "What sort of accident can do that to a bot´s frame?"

"Don´t ask me. She never talked about it and neither Doomsday or mom let anything slip. Not that I´d tell you even if I knew something, to be honest." He may have become more comfortable at living with the Autobots but he wouldn´t go spilling around Maker secrets left and right. "They´ve been friends since forever, you know?"

"Mom? How long have you all been on this planet?"

"Long enough to assimilate a few cultural customs but she doesn´t mind if I call her that instead of Carrier. I think she even likes it better." Silverbot got his train of thought interrupted with a comm call. "Mayhem. Yes, she´s fine. No, we didn´t try to fight it out, that´s your department." He nodded along the conversation and smiled at Arcee. "You did? Well I figured as much. Sure, go ahead." He cut the call and started to get up, towering over the femme once again. "I have to go, there´s still some things we need to get ready before moving in tomorrow and I could use a good recharge as well. I enjoyed this talk. " A green portal appeared behind Silverbot just as he extended his servo.

Reaching out Arcee placed her much smaller servo on his and grabbed a single digit before shaking as a goodbye. "We´ll have to go for a drive one of these days."

The mech smiled. "I´d like that."

Arcee let go of his digit and watched him walk away into the groundbridge. When the green portal faded from existence she gazed at the place where it had been for a few more seconds before deciding it was time to get some recharge as well.

When she went back in Ratchet was the only one left, hard at work trying to fire out what she´d brought back with her from the mines. Arcee wanted badly to tell him to get some rest but he looked ready to give up at any moment to do just that. Quietly she past behind him and went to her quarters. There was a probability that in the morning she´d have a promise to go for a drive to keep.

Sill focused solely on the screen Ratchet hadn´t noticed the two-wheeler disappear into the hallway, the components of the mysterious substance puzzling him. Looking away from his microscope one final time he decided to call it a day.

The computer let out a few beeps as more information was displayed but the results remain inconclusive throughout. "The base elements of this goo are like nothing I´ve ever encountered. Must be extremely concentrated to have affected Arcee so rapidly." Ratchet picked up a pair of tongs and carefully extracted his sample for safekeeping. "Unfortunately complete results are slow coming without the use of proper diagnostic tools. Thank you very much Bulkhead." And also unfortunately he failed to notice when the smallest of drops fell from the metal slide onto the claw of the equipment he was thinking about, the purple substance absorbing quickly into it.

After the medbot turned away the claw began to twitch uncontrollably before gaining a nightmarish-looking spider-like ´body´ and yet he still heard nothing when it stood on its own. The now living little critter looked at its surroundings before scuttling away into hiding before being spotted. The hunt would begin soon.


	6. Itsy-bitsy murderous robot

**AN:** Even after working almost 10h and sleeping only 5h I still managed to finish this, enjoy!

* * *

The Autobot leader had allowed himself the small pleasure of extended recharge time. It was a rare treat, being in charge of a team constantly on their guard meant there were no days off and one bot´s problem was his problem. In all truth he hadn´t been able to go into recharge for a while, with Cliffjumper offlining for a second time and the new additions to their ranks his processor hadn´t quiet down for a while.

When Optimus went to greet Ratchet, who he suspected of already being hard at work to identify the mysterious substance, the medbot wasn´t alone. While Arcee, Bulkhead and Bumblebee were nowhere to be seen there was a small pile of assorted machinery parts on the floor and the Makers were almost all present.

Solarflare was talking with Ratchet about where to store the various metal parts and, upon seeing the Autobot leader, gave a small nod and a tentative wave while approaching the bigger mech. "Good morning, Optimus. We´re just transferring some equipment and personal belongings before shutting down our base to give back to the human government."

"Good morning to you all as well. I can see there´s not much you´ve decided to bring." Optimus had been expecting a bigger variety of personal belongings. Taking into account the three younger bots there was an unusual lack of sentimental-worthy objects in the metal pile.

"Well, Rad, Silver and Mayhem already decided on their quarters so all their belongings are already properly stored… as much as they´ll ever be. Here´s just most of our functioning or usable equipment. We´ve already disabled our groundbridge and Ratchet told us where to store all the spare parts in case yours needs it. This last trip was one way only, we won´t be going back again." There was evident sadness in Solarflare´s voice at the end. She´d been forced to leave the place she considered home for a second time because of the war that stupid ex-gladiator managed to rile up.

"And I hope you get this over with soon. I need to concentrate and I can´t do that with this much noise." Ratchet had went back to looking into his microscope and when he looked into one of the screens displaying analysis results he wanted to hit a certain someone over the helm with a wrench. "This blasted equipment is only giving me inconclusive results and of all the parts they brought none can replace the one Bulkhead crushed. Before I can find out what this goo is made out of I have to fix what that oaf broke."

"I could help you. Forger, you know." Doomsday approached Ratchet but he raised an arm to stop her in her tracks with a sour face. "What? I could totally fix this if you´d let me."

"When I need high-caliber weapons of destruction I´ll ask for your assistance. For now don´t touch anything."

The femme huffed and crossed her arms. "That is a widely used misconception!"

"Do not fret, Ratchet, you shall have your personal space soon enough." Optimus gave a reassuring smile but the medbot only grumbled and attempted to focus on his work once again. Extending his servo Solarflare mimicked the gesture for a handshake. "Allow me to formally welcome you to your new home. May I ask where Mayhem and Radical are? Or even Airachnid."

"Well our resident wall-crawler is up the somewhere laying some webs. Don´t worry, they won´t interfere with your equipment, it just makes her feel safer. As for the two, I think Bumblebee´s showing them around the base."

"That´s partially true." Doomsday gave a nervous laugh. "Mayhem may convinced Bulkhead to go for a drive with her when you weren´t looking."

Solarflare felt her optic twitch at the realization Mayhem had slinked away undetected. Again. "And how do you know that?" How had she not seen that coming? Her daughter couldn´t stand still for long before running of to who knows where.

"She told me to tell you in case you noticed she was missing. Besides, how much trouble can she get into? She´s got an Autobot with her."

* * *

"Mayhem!"

"What?"

"Will you come down, I´m supposed to be protecting you!"

"You come up here! The view is amazing, you´ll love it."

"I´m so scrapped."

* * *

"Silverbot, did you know about this?" The Maker leader turned to her son and his imposing stature did nothing to lessen her glare.

"…Maybe." Was the only thing the triple-changer could say. He diverted his gaze from her optics but could still feel his Carrier´s gaze boring into his very spark.

With a heavy sigh Solarflare turned back to the Forger. "Doomsday, sometimes I wonder how you managed to raise Radical without costing him a few pieces."

"Hey! I may have lost him on a few occasions, mainly when he got into air vents, but I assure you my parenting skills have not let me down."

As if to prove her point Bumblebee and Radical chose that moment to appear, the smaller bot riding the scout´s shoulders. "Hi, mom!" He gave an animated wave.

"See, he´s still in one piece." Doomsday´s response didn´t change from a glare before she turned to her son. "What were you up to?"

"I got my gaming system set up and played some racing games against Bee."

The scout gave a few animated beeps and his frame shook with what would have been laughter.

"No fair! You´ve been driving a lot longer than I have, no matter if I have more experience with Earth videogames. If it was a flight simulated I´d have kicked your aft."

While Radical was still talking animatedly Silverbot approached the red and blue mech and spoke in a lower tone. "Optimus, I wanted to apologize for my behavior yesterday. I need to put my prejudices aside if we´re all going to fight together from now on. I hope you can forgive me."

Optimus gave a smile to the taller triple-changer and offered him a handshake too, one the taller mech accepted. "We all have our pasts, Silverbot, there is nothing to forgive. I see that the talk with Arcee went well."

Silverbot thanked Solus their species wasn´t capable of blushing. "We just exchanged a few ideas, that´s all." Looking over the Autobot leader´s shoulder he focused his optics on something small and scuttling though the floor. "Hey Ratchet, I didn´t know you could build autonomous tools." He turned to the medbot doing his best to work though the noise.

"I can´t." Ratchet didn´t look up from his microscope, annoyed at such a stupid question.

"Then what´s that?" Silverbot pointed at the spider-like metal creature approaching the medbot from behind.

"Watch out!" Screamed Solarflare when the small contraption´s intentions became clear.

The spider-like claw ran at Ratchet and launched itself at him, the bot barely having enough time after running to look around to doge the surprise attack and pick up a metal pipe to defend himself with.

"By the Allspark!" He tried to bash the creature with his weapon, all the while the other bots could only stare in surprise from shock, but it was impossible for him to hit such a fast target. The claw ran between the computer screens and blasters activated, prepared to shoot it, but Ratchet cut in. "Not the console, you fools!" The creature cut the microscope the medbot was using in two. "I needed that!"

When the metal spider jumped up the walkway above and ran along the railing everyone took aim once again to shoot it down but then Airachnid appeared out of nowhere from above, grabbing the claw and crushing it against the floor at the end of her fall. She stood up and took a good look at everyone. "Anyone care to explain to me what did I just destroy?"

When the attentions diverted to Doomsday the femme was quick to shoot down the unspoken accusations. "Don´t look at me, I haven´t built anything like that since we left Cybertron."

"It was not Doomsday." Optimus feared the answer was worse than they´d ever expected. "I have a grave suspicion on the likelier cause: dark energon."

"You´re serious?" Solarflare glared at the Prime. "Are you telling me not only will my team have to fight against Megatron himself we will also run the risk of contamination by Unicron´s blood?" She pointed at the claw.

Radical jumped from Bumblebee's shoulders and approached the destroyed piece of machinery with caution, however Ratchet was swift in getting a glass container and dumping the crushed metal pieces inside it before the sparkling could protest.

"Just because you fixed a few bugs doesn´t mean you´re allowed to handle dangerous samples." The medbot turned to his makeshift lab and placed the container in a metal casing which he sealed right after.

Radical crossed his arms and went to stand near his Carrier in what he´d deny was a pout. "Spoilsport."

"I regret to inform you that it may well be the case, Solarflare. If the residue Arcee found in Cliffjumper brought the broken equipment to life it would stand to reason that the very same substance brought Cliffjumper back from the dead." Continued the bigger Autobot, not liking where his mind was leading him to. He might have discovered Megatron´s latest plot and he did not like what he was imagining.

Ratchet brought a servo to his chin in thought. "That would account for his life signal inexplicably coming back online but dark energon? It´s so scarce it´s to be virtually non-existent, much less here on this planet."

"Well then can any of you two explain me what it´s doing here on Earth?" The Maker leader as getting impatient. They hadn´t signed up to deal with what could be seen as the Cybertronian equivalent of necromancy or even voodoo.

"It was transported by Megatron. And, if I am correct he plans to conquer Earth by raising an army of the undead." Said Optimus in a grave tone.

"Megatron will need to break quite a few toaster ovens." Joked Ratchet at the thought of the Decepticon leader creating an army of human appliances. "I mean, where on this word would he find that many Cybertronian dead?"

"You hear that, Doomsday? Turns out you won´t be the one to make this asteroid blow up." Airachnid turned to her friend and put a servo around her neck.

Optimus and Ratchet turned to look at the Forger who pulled away from the spider-femme and put her servos up in defense. "Joking! She´s joking. Because I´m a Forger I have this innate urge to tinker with things that strike my fancy and I may or may have not made a few hand grenades just for fun."

Before the moment could get any more awkward Arcee arrived from patrol followed closely by Bulkhead and Mayhem. The three bots transformed from their altmodes and couldn´t make heads or tails from the ambiance in the room.

"What´s with all the weird faces?" Asked Mayhem seemingly not remembering she´d left without a warning to Solarflare.

"Autobots prepare to…" Optimus began giving his orders before looking around at the Makers.

"Roll out?" Asked Arcee, unsure why her leader had stopped mid-sentence.

"Remain here. Ratchet and Solarflare, you´ll come with me. Arcee, we´ll be outside communications range for some time so I´m putting you in charge."

"With all due respect playing babysitting with battle-ready bots to me seems like a waste of time. Besides Ratchet hasn´t been in the field since the war."

Taking offense to the two-wheeler´s comment the mech in question was quick to respond. "Hey! My pistons may be rusty but my hearing is a sharp as ever."

"Care to have them polished?" Airachnid dangled by one of her webs in front of Ratchet, a wide grin on her faceplates. The medic groaned before turning his back to her but she only giggled at the action.

Arcee ignored what they all just witnessed to move to her second objection. "And you have no idea of Solarflare´s fighting abilities."

Also taking offense to the underestimating of her fighting skills the seeker was just as quick in defending herself. "I´ll have you know, young lady, that before you could even walk I was training with bots twice my size."

"For the moment it´s only reconnaissance." Optimus did not want to raise an alarm before being sure of his suspicions.

"He´s lying." Silverbot called out the Prime on his actions. "You´re worried and do a terrible job at hiding it."

"Unfortunately much has changed in the last twenty four hours and we all need to adapt. Ratchet, bridge us out."

Ratchet activated the groundbridge and before following Optimus and Solarflare on their way out he kneeled in front of Radical and announced what he hoped was not a stupid decision on his part. "Help with the bridge while I´m gone."

"You mean it?!" The sparkling lit up at the chance of being helpful

"Someone should be able to take care of this primitive technology while I´m not here."

The three bots walked through the groundbridge, Solarflare turning around just before they disappeared to wave at her friends and offspring, mouthing ´We´ll talk later´ to Mayhem. Even with the dark energon in the picture there was no way she´d forget her daughter´s actions. When they were gone the portal shut off and the eight remaining bots were left unsure on what to do while their leaders were gone.

"So we stand around here doing nothing while they go fight bad guys? So unfair." Mayhem was the first to break the silence with her complaint. She was just as strong as her Carrier, why should she be left behind?

"You can help by taking all those spare parts and storing them." Said Arcee before turning to the green wrecker. "I´m going on patrol."

"But Optimus told us to stay." Bulkhead did not fancy being left alone with the Makers. Mayhem was already a handful and more than he could deal with.

"When you´re in charge you can call the shots. Bee, with me." The scout stiffened at the orders and looked dejectedly at Radical before complying with the beeping equivalent of a sigh. "Bulkhead, you´re in charge." Arcee gave her order before transforming along Bumblebee and driving off into the desert.

"First day here and we´re already being pretty much left home alone." Commented Airachnid from her perch up on the walkway. "Are you all this trusting?"

Bulkhead could only groan internally. He could lead out on the field against hordes of Cons, fighting and shouting orders like there was no tomorrow, but he was dealing with Makers, the same bots he´d been told to avoid his whole life. Their leader had went off with Optimus and Ratchet, did that mean they´d go lawless on him? Primus, he hoped not. Before he could conjure up any more distressing scenarios in his processor the proximity alarm came to life and the elevator began its descent.

"Prime!" The elevator came to life and Agent Fowler came out looking very much pissed off. He looked around, attempting to find the giant robot he was looking for among the others but no such luck. His superiors had fallen so hard on top of him he might as well have the bruises to prove it.

"Agent Fowler!" Bulkhead just saw his day go from bad to worse in record time.

"Tough luck man, dude´s out." Mayhem answered the agent´s unspoken question with a shrug and a nod towards the offlined groundbridge.

"Well where did he go? Wait, don´t tell me. He´s out pancaking a mini-mall. Now I don´t know what language you bots speak on your planet-"

"At least six, actually." Radical did not resist the opportunity to show off some of his knowledge, even if outdated with Cybertron uninhabited and all.

"Whatever the case, Prime promised he would handle the Decepticons and blowing a crater in the middle of Nebraska what the word ´handle´ means in English. He hope he has a good excuse by the time he gets back because I am not feeling patient." Agent Fowler went back into the elevator, unable to stare at any more giant robots without bursting a vessel, but paused before pressing the button. "In the meantime I´ll try to stall but this will not end well, I guarantee you that." And with that he was off to try and maintain his job long enough for the Autobot leader to come back wherever he was.


	7. Rising danger

**AN:** Read until the end and then please let me tell you what you think...

* * *

When Solarflare exited through the groundbridge she hadn't know what to expect but the somber landscape certainly hadn´t crossed her mind. Everywhere she looked was the same, a remote, desolate landscape where grey stone stretched as far as her optics could see. Only a small green ground-plant could be seen here and there and the lack of organic life more than explained the deafening silence broken only by the three bot´s footsteps.

"Optimus, what do we hope to find here?" Ratchet was not liking the ambiance as well, wondering what had prompted the Prime to choose that particular location for their sudden mission.

"The site of the largest Cybertronian battlefield in this galaxy." Was not the answer both Maker and medbot were not expecting. Earth, the site of a battle between the factions? It seemed a little far-fetched.

Not liking the fact that she, as the Maker leader, was going in blind on a mission with no set return time Solarflare decided it was time to put her pede down. "Alright, Prime, you really need to start explaining things in advance. Explain."

"There was a period late in the war when both sides began hiding their energon spoils off-world."

"I… We had no idea." It certainly was the first time she was hearing about such a thing.

Ratchet had known they´d hidden away to avoid the war but not to the point of being unaware of what had happened during it. To him it seemed unthinkable for someone to have been able to live that long without one or two run-ins with either faction. "It´s the reason energon deposits exist on planets such as this one."

"We´d always thought energon was naturally occurring. The overwhelming majority of Makers stayed in Cybertron during their whole lives and had next to no formal education. Solus, we barely even left our district."

The Autobot leader remembered the Maker district. It had been a place he´d never entered, only glanced at from a distance, while bots ranging from lowly miners to Senators went in and out at all times. "It would make sense for you to think that, you evaded all conflict during the war and as such knew nothing of the moves from both sides. As I was saying, the energon is also the reason battles came to be waged on planets such as this one. And I fear Megatron´s memory is as long as history."

Solarflare shook her helm, displeased at her lack of foresight. "I can't believe we´ve been living on a planet long touched by the war. I should´ve known, what kind of leader doesn´t notice there were held battles on the planet they decided to hide out on?"

"It is not your fault. You´ve managed to keep you all safe since the beginning of the war and that is something to be proud of."

"Humph. We´ll see how safe we all are with this whole dark energon business."

* * *

Back at the base no one knew what to do exactly. Silverbot and Doomsday picked up the pile of spare parts left on the floor and threw it in to the nearest storage closet while Airachnid went back to laying some webbing around the walls.

Bulkhead kept his optics trained on Mayhem, the heavy-duty seeker was pacing back and forth in front of the offlined groundbridge as if it would come to life on its own to take her somewhere or anywhere.

"You think Optimus is in a lot of trouble?" Mayhem was already tired of waiting. Sure only fifteen minutes had passed since the Autobots and her Carrier had left but it seemed life forever to the younger femme. She´d resigned herself to staring at the bridge in hopes something would happen soon.

"Like right now or with Fowler?" Radical had gotten his portable gaming system from his new berthroom, a piece he´d crafted inspired in the human versions, and was gaming away time.

"Fowler."

"I dunno. Airachnid, you know all this military rank stuff, what´s your opinion?"

The spider-femme turned on the hammock she´d made herself between two piles of metal crates out of boredom. "No clue, sweetspark. I´ve got no idea how similar Cybertronian and human military rankings are."

Everything whet back to being quiet before a loud pitched alarm rang though the base, but that time it didn´t sound like the proximity sensor. Radical dropped his console and ran to the control panel only for Bulkhead to pick him up and set him down on the platform, the wrecker needing to get a closer look at the panel without accidentally stepping on the sparkling.

"It´s an SOS from Fowler!" The Autobot looked at the distress signal but hesitated to push any buttons, unsure on how to operate the console, before the panel went back to normal and the signal got cut off.

The Makers looked between each other and slowly approached the appointed leader for the moment, expecting for clarifications on what just happened or even rescue orders.

"Did you trace it?" Radical leaned over to look at the screen. It certainly didn´t look like it to him.

"Location scan was incomplete." Answered Bulkhead before he shrugged and turned away from the console. "Oh well."

"Oh well?" Silverbot did not like the wrecker´s answer even one bit. "The Decepticons may have him and be preparing for good old-fashioned torture this very moment."

"And Agent Fowler knows your location." The sparkling dry-swallowed and looked over to his Carrier with worry. "Our location."

"That´s it, we´re out of here." Doomsday was trying very hard not to panic. As a forger she had no alt-form and Radical couldn't fly, they´d be prime for the picking. "I say let´s go back to our old base and start over."

Airachnid went to stand with the Forger in agreement. "I´m with her. If the Cons are coming for you Autobots we don´t have to get caught in the crossfire because technically we don´t exist."

"No!" Mayhem could not believe her audio receptors. They wanted to leave behind the bots they swore to fight alongside of and that was a big no in her books. "We´re on the Autobot´s side now and we´ll fight any Con that comes though those doors." Something in her spark told her to fight in that war and her spark had never steered her wrong.

"Or the ceiling. Or the walls." Airachnid countered. "Sweetspark, you don´t know what those monsters are capable of but both of us and your Carrier do. Think this though, do you really believe Solarflare would want you and your brother to fight for a side that oppressed the Makers for millennia?"

"If I have to choose between them and the ones who destroyed our planet I´ll take my chances with the Autobots."

Getting tired of the bickering, Radical sat down and once again connected himself to the console. He began pressing the buttons on his wrist panel with speed and accuracy, testing out a theory he hoped proved to be true or else they´d have next to no chances of rescuing Agent Fowler.

Bulkhead watched the sparkling for a few seconds with a puzzled expression before giving into his curiosity. "What are you doing?"

"Narrowing down Agent Fowler´s location." Radical didn´t even look up from his work before continuing on with his explanation. "About five years ago the government started microchipping their agents. You know, like human owners do with pets. If I can hack into the Fed´s mainframe I may be able to pinpoint his coordinates. "

"Kid, how do you even know all this stuff?"

"Trust me, I´m not that young." There was a beep from the console and coordinates started appearing on the selected destination. "Here it is. Latitude 39.5, longitude 116.9. Groundbridge is a go."

The portal came to life, supposedly leading to the agent´s location, but now they had a dilemma. Who would go to rescue their human liaison?

"Wait here, all of you." The remaining Autobot made his decision. "Erm, Doomsday, you´re in charge."

"Wait!" Mayhem ran up to Bulkhead. "Take me with you, I know I can help you."

"No deal. Stay here with the others."

With his decision made the wrecker went into the swirling portal but before he could disappear something heavy crashed into him, sending both tumbling to the other side before the groundbridge closed in front of the remaining flabbergasted Makers.

"Did she just…" Radical tried telling himself he had not just witnessed Mayhem throw herself into a possible combat situation in a moment of impulsiveness.

"Mayhem, you idiot!" Screamed Silverbot as if his sister was still there to hear his insult.

"I´ll open the portal again, let me just-"

"No." Airachnid slowly shook her helm. "We´ll go. We need you here in case Flare or the two Autobots need backup. If it´s Megatron we´re going against we need someone to match the size."

Doomsday though about her leader and friend. It was true Mayhem could probably handle herself but still… "Airachnid, you do know what will happen if Solarflare finds out we let her daughter get close to Megatron. She´ll have our sparks for this."

"If she doesn´t come back in one piece I will tear your arms from your body like shrimps." Silverbot looked between the femmes. "Both of you."

"Oh no!" As if the universe wasn´t done laughing at their expense the console began to beep as bugs started to spread all over the system.

Silverbot could not believe what was happening. "What did you do?!"

"Nothing, must have been something from the Fed´s server I overlooked! Oh man, I´ve got to fix this quick!" He tried to fight the infestation but it would take him some time, if the growing amount of problems was anything to go by.

"Doomsday, can´t you help?"

"You know very well I´m all about the hardware, for software he´s your only bot."

With a nervous sigh Silverbot resigned to observing Radical fight off the digital infestation.

"Let´s just hope no one needs to be bridged soon. Please be careful, Mayhem."

* * *

"Dammit, Mayhem! I said I didn´t want you on this mission."

"Well I´m here now so deal with it. What´s so bad about it anyway? Is it because I´m a Maker? Or because I´m a seeker?"

Bulkhead picked himself off the ground after Mayhem got up from on top of him. She really was packing something to weigh like a boulder. He checked for any dents before turning to the proud-looking femme who´d decided to follow him.

"Neither! If something happens to you I wouldn't be able to forgive myself for letting a defenseless-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on a sec, defenseless?" Mayhem interrupted the wrecker, looking very much insulted at being called the ´d´ word. She took out a scepter-like hammer and hit the long handle´s tip on the ground, puffing out her chest. "You see this? I wouldn´t have it if I didn´t know how to use it? Mayhem made it for me along with a full hydraulic system rework when mom said I was ready to fight like a real warrior. Are you calling my Carrier a liar?"

Resigning himself to the idea that no, the femme would not be leaving, the Autobot caved in at last. "Fine, you win. Let´s just find Fowler and get back to the base before the others come back." But then when he looked over ahead he saw the Nemesis grounded in its full glory, complete with patrolling Vehicons. "Uh-oh, the whole Decepticon shebang."

Mayhem grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him behind the large rock wall to their left. "Aren´t you glad I came with you now?" She whispered.

"Follow my lead." Bulkhead though for a moment before running to take cover behind a boulder big enough to hide his frame. It was when he looked over to see Mayhem mouthing ´idiot´ did he realize her wings would not be hidden if she indeed followed him.

When the wrecker took a peek to try and reverse his path he stared directly into a Vehicon´s visor. And the Vehicon stared right back before pointing his blaster at the Autobot, preparing to blast a hole through his armor.

"So unwise, dear Bulkhead." Running up from behind the Decepticon the Maker lifted her hammer in a wide arc and struck downwards with precision, crushing her enemy into the ground. The hit did some damage but the Vehicon still retained enough strength to attempt getting up, that was, before Mayhem reached down and sank her claws into his spark chamber, tearing out a jumble of metal and cables. "You alright?" She asked, letting go of the parts she´d just torn out with a smirk.

"Erm… yeah. C´mon." Unsure on how to describe the fear he´d just felt watching the seeker tear out a Con´s spark, Bulkhead settled for being the one to that time grab her wrist and drag her behind a larger boulder. He needed to make a call.

* * *

After the two Autobots left the base on patrol nothing had happened and Arcee did not like that one bit. If the Decepticons were on the move they should´ve seen signs of activity by then but all the desert had to offer until that point had been only sun and sand for the miles they´d driven though.

"Arcee, Bumblebee, do you read? We have a situation." A call from Bulkhead came through, but Arcee did not feel like answering. Mainly because it would likely be the wrecker begging them to come back to base.

"Bulkhead, for the last time, there are no such things as sparkeaters, Doomsday only said that to scare us." The two wheeler felt like hanging up before the next part hit her like a punch from Optimus himself. "You´re where?! She´s where?!" She switched frequencies to contact the base. Radical would be able to operate the groundbridge and get them to those two. "Arcee to bridge, do you copy? We need you to bridge us back. Hello?" Static was her only response. "Nothing. Did they all leave? Forget it. Bumblebee, metal to the pedal."

* * *

Bulkhead and Mayhem sat waiting patiently for their backup but they were getting impatient as the minutes trickled by. The femme had put back her weapon and began bouncing her knee with barely contained anticipation while her partner repressed the urge to constantly look over their hiding place to the giant Decepticon ship parked right behind them.

"What´s taking Arcee and Bumblebee?" He was getting more nervous by the second. Had they ran into Cons as well?

"Dude, the Cons could be putting the clamps on Fowler right now, let´s just storm the joint."

"Unless you switch that insignia for theirs I doubt you´d be able to sneak in."

With a scoff Mayhem put a digit to Bulkhead´s chest. "Look who´s talking, thinking he´s as dainty as a ballerina."

* * *

During some point in their journey the air seemed to get colder and although the temperature wasn´t enough to affect their systems the three bots repressed the urge to shiver at the sight presented in front of them. Just shy of a few feet ahead laid hundreds, perhaps thousands, of fallen warriors. There was no distinction between Autobots and Decepticons, all one could see were empty husks of Cybertronians who´d lost their lives in the war that had torn up their planet.

Solarflare´s wings dropped closer to her frame while she looked around with unease. Something bad was coming. Something wicked.

"For the first time in my life, Optimus, I had hoped you were wrong." Ratchet could not look away from the gruesome sight. He´d seen what the war could to but it was like relieving his nightmares just by staring at the jumble of fallen allies and enemies.

A flyer engine rumble was heard, coming in fast to their location. Solarflare knew immediately who it was, for she´d heard that engine rev up many times in the past.

Megatron soared over the three bots with glee before landing on top of one of the many steep rocks framing the old battle site. "Optimus, been well?" He´d known exactly what Prime would do and he was playing right into the warlord´s servos. The battle for Cybertron was close to being ended by his army and the Decepticons would rule supreme for eons to come. "I see you brought your trusty watchdog and… Solarflare." Even though his processor was clouded by Unicron´s blood after exposing himself to the dark substance he recognized the Maker. How could he not?

Solarflare said nothing, opting to look at the tyrant with a murderous glare. How dare he address her after the pain he´d caused her? She couldn´t wait to put a hole through his spark chamber a watch as the life drained from his optics, getting revenge at last for the bot responsible for the mass Maker exodus from the only place they´d ever felt at home.

"You know him?!" Ratchet expected much from the tyrannical Decepticon leader but previous involvement with the leader of the Makers had fallen short of that list.

"Not now."

"I know why you´re here, Megatron." The Prime took a defiant step further, inviting Megatron down for one more tally to their fight score.

Upon hearing his enemy´s words the dark energon once again took over and pushed aside his past. There would be time for that after he´d eradicated the Autobots. "Hardly a surprise, Optimus. After all, you and I have been at this a long time, and your time has come to an end. Dearest Flare, you may want to move for this." Megatron readied his fusion cannon but did not shoot at the bots and instead aimed at the ground but there was no explosion, the purple energy ball that came out sinking into the ground. "Rise, my army."

There was a rumble beneath the earth and the corpses of the fallen warriors came to life by Unicron´s will, brandishing their weapons as if their fight had never ended. They moaned and groaned as the purple substance ingrained itself deep in their frames, stumbling out of their supposed final resting place with an undead thirst to battle once again. That time, for one master alone.

"Behold, the power of dark energon!"


	8. Not the endgame

**AN:** Another lengthy chapter this time, although I really wished you guys reading could give me some feedback. Anyway I dunno if I can continu with this one chapter per day craze but I´ll do my best to update regularly.

* * *

The crowd of Terrorcons kept growing in size, advancing on the three bots with moans and groans that threatened to freeze the energon running though the frames of the outnumbered warriors.

"Megatron has desecrated the resting place of our fallen ancestors and his own." Ratchet took an involuntary step back in fear. Though his medical optics that scenario was one of the most macabre conceivable.

"Not even the dead are free from his warmongering." Answered Optimus in a grave tone.

"Whatever the case we won´t survive for long by talking. We´re going to have to quiet down everyone once again, independently of spiritual problems." Solarflare was getting more and more scared but steadied herself with rhythmic breaths, it was no time to run away.

From his perch Megatron could see how the bots reacted to his latest creations. He relished in the fear his new army caused in the sparks of his enemies, their doubts as to whether they´d survive to live another day brought him great joy. But there was something gnawing at his own spark. The dark energon had numbed him to a multitude of emotions but there was one that refused to disappear completely and leave him be. Carefully analyzing the situation he finally found the problem.

"Destroy the Autobots and bring me the seeker!" Shouted the warlord.

Down with the Autobots, Solarflare repressed the urge to fly up to the hulking figure and put a shot straight to his spark. How could he still remember her after all that time had passed? If they managed to get out from there with their sparks still going she´d never hear the end of it until those dammed Autobots had pried all the information from her processor.

"Seriously, how do you know him?!" Ratchet would certainly be number one in line to hear the Maker´s explanations.

"I said later!"

Optimus took the lead, blasting the once fallen warriors with regret but they suffered next to no damage and kept walking, physical pain holding no meaning to them. They had not deserved to be risen from their eternal rest to fight in the war they´d already given their sparks to independently of the faction they´d once sworn loyalty to.

"Scrap! Prime, that´s not working! We need another plan." Solarflare took her fair share of shots at the crowd alongside the taller bot but her efforts meant nothing as well.

"Optimus, if our combatants are already deceased how can we possibly defeat them?!"

"Retreat, both of you! Bridge yourselves back to base."

"And leave you alone? I may have a grudge against certain Autobots but you´re not on that list." Shouted the femme. "I won´t abandon you."

"I won´t be going either. You may require a medic when this is over with." Ratchet withdrew his blades and threw himself at the Cybertronian ghouls and with great surprise watched as the parts he cut off died back down, losing the dark energon glow that possessed them. "I recommend dissection. The smaller the pieces the better."

Optimus changed his blasters to blades as well and impaled several Terrorcons with them, noticing the efficacy of the medbot´s method. "Sound advice, old friend."

The seeker recalled her blasters but had no blades imbedded in her frame like the two Autobots. No, she possessed something far better in her opinion. Reaching into her subspace she withdrew a pair of collapsible rapiers and joined the fight. "Keep your optics open, boys. Victory taught me some tricks."

The three bots threw themselves into the fight, hacking away at their reanimated enemies but every time they took one down two replaced them. Solarflare went for swift decapitations and separating the limbs form the torso, Ratchet targeted the sparkchambers with quicks hacking motions and Optimus used his greater strength to straight-up tear them apart. Picking up their speed they strengthened their efforts but it felt like something was slowly sapping away at their life-force by just being near the ghoulish creations. Under the gaze of Megatron they kept fighting, giving their all to survive the madness of dark energon.

"Give up, Optimus! When you fall you too shall join my army!"

* * *

"We can't wait much longer, I´m going in."

Mayhem had gotten tired of waiting. Granted, she hadn't kept track of the time but it didn´t matter when a certain someone could very well be meeting his demise at the hands of the Decepticons. Sitting idle while they could be doing something to rescue the human man did not sit well with her at all.

"No, Mayhem, it´s too dangerous." Bulkhead put a servo on the seeker´s shoulder.

"Well, either we do something or Fowler is going to spill the beans and die."

"I meant it´s too dangerous to go alone, I´m coming with." The wrecker offered a smile. It had become obvious something had went wrong with Arcee and Bumblebee so they´d need to act on their own. "What do you have in mind?"

"Finally, you´re talking my language." Mayhem grinned and huddled closer to the Autobot. "Here´s my plan, I fly over and distract the Cons by landing on the hanger up top while you take advantage of the distraction, accelerate to top speed, grab onto the cliff and climb up. I´m a seeker, they won´t risk shooting one of their own without knowing who it is."

The plan sounded so crazy it might even just work like the femme said. "… Fine. When you´re ready."

"I was sparked ready." She gave a thumbs up, transformed to her alt-mode and flew up to the Nemesis with no hesitation.

Bulkhead watched the femme fly away and turn back with a barrel roll towards the Nemesis. She was a little crazy and even more impulsive but if that was what they needed to rescue Agent Fowler he was more than willing to turn a blind eye just that one time.

The patrolling Vehicons on top of the Decepticon ship paused at the sight of and unfamiliar purple and white seeker with pink accents landing on the deck with no warning. They kept their weapons away for the time being, nothing was worse than pointing one´s weapons at a superior officer and be on the wrong side of a blaster, missile or, the worst of all, a fusion canon.

"Identify yourself!" Shouted one of the faceless drones.

When the seeker did not transform, choosing to remain perfectly still and speechless, the small group of Vehicons finally withdrew their blasters and pointed them at the newcomer.

"Identify yourself or you´ll be held in contempt of Lord Megatron´s orders!"

Mayhem steadied her racing spark and did her best to keep her wings from shivering in anticipation but when the Vehicons surrounding her began warming up their blasters she knew she had to either do something or her little impromptu adventure would come to an end faster than she´s want to. Just as the seeker got ready to release her alt-mode thumping sounds of metal against metal reverbed though the air, making the Decepticons turn their attention to the Autobot that had just climbed his way onto the deck and thrown the closest drone down below.

"Finally!" Mayhem came out of her alt-form and took out her hammer. "It´s hammer time, boys!" She yelled with glee.

Together the Autobot and the Maker tore their way through the Decepticon´s low ranks, their actions having surely triggered the ship´s alarm because as soon as they thought to be done more faceless enemies emerged from a hatch behind Mayhem just as soon they dropped their guard. The seeker´s optics widened at the sight of several pairs of blasters aiming at her back but before she could do anything Bulkhead took action.

"Duck!" The wrecker tore out a satellite dish from the deck and yelled at the femme to get just as he threw the piece of equipment at her attackers, knocking them out or even over the edge.

Noticing more coming their way from all directions Bulkhead ran up to Mayhem and pulled her along to jump down the hatch the Vehicons had come though and closed it behind them, making sure to break the locking system once it was secure so they couldn´t be followed.

The mech looked at both ends of the hallway they´d ended up and pointed behind the femme. "You go that way I go the other. When one finds Fowler we let the other know and we´re out of here."

"Got it. See you soon, big guy."

With a parting glance he watched her run and round the corner. He prayed the next time he saw her she´d still be in one piece, if not for her sake then for his. HE did not want to find out what fighting a triple-changer was like.

Making his way through the hallways the wrecker did what he knew best and fought his way through the Vehicons unlucky enough to cross his path. All it took in most cases was a body slam and a few punches to knock the daylights out of the drones patrolling the hallways, their aim not having improved since he´d last fought them. Unfortunate he got cocky and failed to notice one sneak up behind him while he beat the living hell out of another. He looked back, staring into the red blaster ready to blow his helm off, but someone else took care of his problem in a similar fashion.

Bulkhead looked at his savior to see Arcee putting away her weapon. "Thanks. I thought I was a goner for a moment."

"Both of you storming the Decepticon ship was not a wise move. Where´s Mayhem?" Asked the two wheeler.

"You try getting her to stay put for more than a click." He quickly defend himself but decided to leave the excuses for later. "We split up to try and find Fowler quicker but I got no word from her yet."

"Great, now we have to rescue a human and a Maker. Let´s hit the brig first, experience tells me that´s where we´ll find our main target."

As they moved along the numbers in Vehicons increased, proving that there certainly was something of importance at the end of their path. They sustained some damage but kept moving on, Bulkhead crushing at the front with Arcee shooting from close range while Bumblebee shot from the rear.

They arrived at the door they´d been heading towards and, with Bulkhead using a Vehicon as a shield, both him and Bumblebee opened the door, remaining hidden in the shadow of the unconscious drone. The trick had worked in the past, why not then?

Starscream turned to the poor soul that had the nerve to interrupt his interrogation just as he was about to get the location of the Autobot´s headquarters from the puny little human man. "What? Can´t you see I´m busy?"

The Vehicon fell to the floor, revealing to the Autobots the sight of Agent Fowler hanging from chains while Starscream dropped the energon prod he´d been more than clearly using on the human. The two bots aimed their weapons at the SIC but the seeker in turn aimed his at the man.

"Not so fast!" He knew the soft-sparked Autobots wouldn´t have the courage to shoot him while he had his weapons trained on the organic. What he did not count on, however, was the blaster poking his helm from above, courtesy of the blue femme balancing on the shaft right above himself.

"I wouldn´t." She said.

"Oh, but I might."

The fight came to a standoff, no one daring to take the first shot. The Decepticon SIC was known for devious maneuvers and backstabbing his was though the ranks in record time, leaving no room for trust when it came to him.

"Now, Agent Fowler and I will take our leave."

"The eagle says meow!" Yelled out the man with a crazed smile. Clearly the continuous shock therapy had fried more than just a few brain cells.

Startled by the dizzy agent´s rambling Starscream lost focus, enabling Bumblebee to shoot and throw him off balance. With that the other Autobots blasted away at their panicked screaming enemy, not giving him a chance to ready a counterattack, making the seeker do what looked like a dance while avoiding getting shot.

Feeling outnumbered, Starscream felt it would be in his best interest to make a ´tactical retreat´ before ending up with a few extra holes in his protoform. Jumping in the air used his alt-form to take slight and took off though the hallway, deeper into the Nemesis. He´d been so close to delivering some good news to Megatron for a change and would no doubt be in trouble after Soundwave relied his actions to their leader.

"Coward." Yelled Arcee after being singed with the jet´s engines but she let him go anyway. Agent Fowler needed medical are ASAP and they still needed to track down the only seeker on that dammed ship that was on their side.

* * *

Mayhem was more than lost. All the hallways looked the same and she couldn´t keep fighting forever any Cons she encountered at every turn. She tried different doors but they either led to storage units or empty crew quarters. On her fifth attempt she found what looked like the control room along with a few Vehicons performing some tasks. When their attention turned to the open door she steadied herself before letting out a cry and charging in, hammer brandished high.

She got hit by a few blasts but managed to bear it through, either knocking out or offlining the small number of enemies. Storing her weapon Mayhem took a good look around the huge room. Control panels and screens decorated every wall from one end to the other and a sort of bridge over loops of stairs separated what was probably the main seat from the rest of the room.

Mayhem was about to continue her search when a nearby computer displaying equations and graphics caught her attention. If the Decepticons were up to something to her it looked like that something was connected to the data presented to her.

"Hello. What do we have here?" She approached to take a closer look but could not make heads or tails of what she was looking at. "Kind of looks like one of Rad´s programs." She stilled at the though. "Rad! Of course, he´d know what this means." Pawing around in her subspace for a way to carry the data she found nothing beyond only one of her holopads. "That´ll work too." She brought the disk up, turned the bottom portion to the screen, and took a picture before subspacing it back.

As carefully as possible she backed away from the computer but before she could make a run for it the door opened and a Vehicon came inside. They stared at each other in surprise and the Decepticon immediately took out his blasters, having been previously warned a seeker femme was among the bots that had invaded their ship.

Mayhem dodged the blasts and ran forward, tackling the Vehicon and crushing him against the hallway wall, driving her shoulder hard into his torso plating. A honk brought her attention to the three Autobots speeding on their alt-modes in her direction and she let go of the unconscious drone.

"We´ve got Fowler, move!" Bulkhead yelled while driving past Mayhem along with Arcee and Bumblebee, prompting the seeker to chase after them in her jet form towards the exit.

A few turns and run over Decepticons later they were falling off the Nemesis and into the desert ground but they kept speeding away to somewhere safe enough to bridge back to the base. Agent Fowler needed immediate medical care and Mayhem had a lot of explaining to do.

* * *

Solarflare had lost count of the enemies she´d decapitated but kept going despite her dwindling energy reserves. Her rapiers, although thin, were strong enough to go through a bot´s armor from one side to the other. Doomsday had smelted down Victory´s shield after his offlining and expertly crafted the weapons at her friend´s demand with no questions asked, not that the Forger had wanted to argue with the grieving seeker.

The Autobots were getting more tired by the minute but the horde of Terrorcons seeming previously endless previously had noticeably dwindling numbers at last. Their efforts were paying off but they had their doubts they´d ever reach the end of the fight victorious. At one point they found themselves back to back with each other with their weapons held high while looking at the crowd still surround them.

"The prolonged exposure to dark energon is slowly sapping our strength." Ratchet explained the bot´s obvious question at their exhaustion. "We won´t be able to last much longer."

"We cannot falter now." Proclaimed Optimus before throwing himself back at the Terrorcons but was quickly overwhelmed by their numbers clinging to his frame and swallowing him to their horde.

The medbot saw his leader disappear into the frames tainted by dark energon and tried to make his way to him but the distraction caused him to suffer the same fate, leaving Solarflare feeling increasingly scared at the thought of being left alone with the Decepticon warlord and his army. One of the Terrorcons managed to get a hold on her arm with enough force for her to drop the rapier she´d been holding and, with a desperate cry, she shoved her other one though its left optic and kicked herself free but now unable to reach her weapon.

Another battle cry came from the pile Optimus was buried under and Solarflare felt relieved at seeing the mech shoot and hack his way out still intact and shoot the Terrorcons targeting Ratchet, freeing him as well. Running up to the medbot she stabbed her way through to him and offered a servo to help the injured medbot up.

"Everything in one piece?" Asked the white and green seeker. Placing his arm around her neck she helped him to his pedes and gave him a quick look over for any more pressing issues but it seemed only his harm needed immediate care.

"Mostly yes." Ratchet extracted himself from the femme and withdrew his weapons once gain. He could fight though a little pain.

Optimus reunited with the bots and once again they went back to putting the now reasonable number of risen warriors back to their graves.

"After all these years, Optimus, still at the top of your game." Megatron drew the attention of the Autobots and the Maker to himself. "My legion, finish them and bring her to me at once!"

"Optimus, you go deal with him, we got this." Said Solarflare, knowing the only one who could put a stop to the source of the madness was the Autobot leader.

"Are you-"

"Yes! Go!" She shouted, interrupting him. They had not time for arguing.

The Autobot leader carved his way to the bottom of Megatron´s cliff and sheathed his blades, putting his remaining forces to making his way up to meet his long-held enemy. All he could think of was ending his former friend´s impending reign of terror on Earth from spreading to all the corners of the Universe. Many lives would be lost if they failed their mission now. "You will not prevail, Megatron, not while energon still flows through my veins."

"Fitting, for it is dark energon that flows through mine. I have to applause your resolve." Taunted the Decepticon leader. "Though this just a prelude. You may wish to save your strength to the main event." He leaned down to stare at the blue optics just inches away from his.

Optimus swung his arm just as he reached the top, hoping to land a hit on the seeker, but Megatron jumped up and transformed into his alt-mode and flew away. He may have lost many battles in his life time but the war had just tipped in the Decepticons´ favor and that time there would be nothing the Autobots could to change the outcome. War spoils could wait, he had a war to win.

The Autobot tried to shoot the fleeing jet but missed on all his attempts. Whatever reason Megatron had retreated for it was not because of the outcome of that battle. The mech had never backed away from a fight with Prime in the past and Optimus feared there was something he was missing in the bigger picture.

Ratchet reached the top just as Megatron disappeared over the horizon and his leader helped him up. Together they looked down at the once again eternally slumbering army they´d fought against and though about the purpose of it all.

"If this wasn´t Megatron´s endgame, what is?" Asked Ratchet while surveying the damaged they´d caused. Looking at Maker walking among the offlined warriors, rummaging through the piles of cut off parts until she bent down to pick up her fallen rapier he thought of another pressing question. "And why does he know Solarflare?"

* * *

 **AN:** Please tell me what you think about the story so far :)


	9. Intel of two kinds

**AN:** Expect no chapter tomorrow because I just finished this one a minute ago and have to get to work... it´s almost 1am... Sigh.

 **PS:** Big thanks to **OPIv2** for being a frequent reviewer and giving me motivation to keep this crazy schedule. You rock!

 **To answer Rowena_Bensel: Since Airachnid will not be a part of Arcee´s tragic backstory there will be modifications but our spider-femme will play an unwilling part.**

* * *

"Mayhem, you´re so dead!"

"Uh-oh."

When the team of bots that had just left the Nemesis went through their once again operational groundbridge the first thing they witnessed was a furious triple-changer heading their way or, more precisely, Mayhem´s way.

The Autobots moved away with haste, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire of a high-caliber sibling fight that had the potential for severe collateral damage. Arcee and Bulkhead positioned themselves next to the console while Bumblebee went to lay Fowler in a preemptively prepared human sized medical bed on top of the platform next to the console. He had no idea where the Makers had found it but did not complain, the poor man needed to rest.

"I can explain-!" The heavy-duty femme put her servos up in defense but still ended up crushed… by an overwhelming hug.

"I´m so glad you´re alright. Please, don´t ever scare me like that again." Whispered Silverbot.

Mayhem was flabbergasted. She´d acted on impulse, put her life and probably the Autobot´s on the line, risked running into the almighty Decepticon leader himself and even getting captured but nothing could have prepared her for her brother´s reception. And was he shaking? Holy Solus he was crying. He was crying over her careless aft and that made her feel like one of the Con´s lasers had pierced her spark.

"Erm, are you alright?" The femme attempted to lighten the mood but only got the mech to squeeze her harder. At that rate her back strut would snap in multiple places and Mayhem decided it was time to remove her face from being pressed against his armor. "The cons may have not put a lot of dents on me but you´re doing a great job. Seriously, kind of you´re crushing me here."

"Sorry." Silverbot immediately let go of his sister and wiped away at the energon tears staining his faceplate. Composing himself he cleared his voice box. "What you did was reckless, dangerous, life-threatening and a whole more list of words from here to Cybertron. With footnotes."

"But I did it for a good cause. Besides, you´d have went after me if you though I was in so much danger."

"He couldn´t." Called Radical from his sitting point on the platform he´d claimed as his. "There were some technical difficulties after you left. I suspect the government database I hacked had some safety precautions I overlooked in my hurry because I had to correct a ton of bugs right after the bridge closed. You all got lucky I managed to fix everything just before you commed in."

"Well, that explains why Bee and I couldn´t contact the base." Arcee looked at the small bot. He had some amazing skills not many could boast being part of their repertoire.

He smiled sheepishly and rubbed his helm while swaying on his pedes. "Yeah, sorry about that."

"Why are you apologizing? You didn´t just find Fowler but also kept our bridge functioning. That´s very impressive for someone so young."

Radical looked away in embarrassment, but there was something else to it in there as well, and responded in a soft tone. "I´m not that young, you know?"

The groundbridge came to life once again and the only three bots that should've been out of the base that day came though looking worse for the wear. The ones that had been left behind took in the sorry state of both their leaders and medbot before they nearly trampled over each other to get to them.

"Mom!" "Flare!" "Optimus!" "Ratchet!"

"Hold it!" Solarflare shouted and raised her arms, stopping the incoming stampede that was about to overwhelm her and the two Autobots. "Ratchet is in need of medical care so let the poor mech at least sit down first."

The crowd parted and Optimus helped Ratchet further into the base to sit on the ground with his back against the wall. The Autobots came to see what had happened with their leader and medic while the Makers preoccupied themselves with Solarflare.

"Bumblebee, go get me a cast from the medical locker." Asked Ratchet to the young scout. He got a beeped response and Bumblebee almost went running to go get what the injured doctor needed.

Focusing her attention solely on her Carrier´s state Mayhem took in the chipped paint and dents carefully. "What happened, mom? Did you fall off a cliff and fought with every rock on the way down?" She joked. It was her default for something that made her uncomfortable, jokes lightened every situation.

"I could ask you the same?" Solarflare pointed to her daughter´s scratched paintjob and minimal denting and peered over at the man lying on the bed. "Did you and your brother get into a fight again? And what happened to Agent Fowler?"

"Erm, well…. I asked first!" The heavy-duty seeker was about to get in an overflowing pot of trouble and she knew it. Her spark beat faster at what her Carrier would say about her little escapade aboard the Nemesis. She´d explode for sure.

"Tell me. Now." The eldest femme´s tone left no room for disobedience.

"I may or may not have followed Bulkhead to rescue Fowler who got captured by the Decepticons and held in their ship."

"YOU WHAT?!" And there was the explosion.

"Yeah…I knew you´d get angry."

"Angry doesn´t even begin to cover it! What you did could have ended with you either offlined or imprisoned! I know you shouldn´t base you actions on other´s emotions but dammit Mayhem, what would we have done if we lost you?! I have tried again and again to show you how your impulsiveness has consequences but you refuse to listen and I´m always afraid the day you do it´ll be too late!"

Mayhem looked down to the side, ashamed about being the cause of her Carrier´s emotionally distressed outburst. "I´m… I´m sorry. It won´t-"

"Don´t." Solarflare interrupted what she´d come to know by heart with a soft breath. "Please don´t say it won't happen again because it will. Can´t you see I care about you? I worry that one day your recklessness will be the end of you and today could´ve been it." With a dishearten sigh she cut off her rant… maybe her final one. "I wish you´d understand but I see you still have a lot to learn." The seeker turned away and walked over where Optimus was helping fit Ratchet with the cast Bumblebee had retrieved. "Please, let me help you with that. Optimus, get me the welder, please."

After the emotional display no one wanted to be the first to break the silence. They all looked lost on what to do about what they´d witnessed. Every single Autobot had never seen such a thing in a familiar context. Sure, superior officers had disciplined and yelled at their subordinates in front of them for insubordination before but seeing a worried Carrier yell at her offspring about how she was constantly scared about losing them was completely different.

"Still, we don´t know what happened with you?" Doomsday ventured with her question when no one else dare to ask why the three bots had returned damaged. "Was it that bad?"

"There was an altercation." Solarflare fastened the cast to the medbot´s arm and lit up the blowtorch to weld it shut. "Hold still or after you´re healed it´ll be harder to take this off."

Ratchet could not resist the urge to snap. "I´m well aware of that, I´m usually the one handling the injury."

"Sorry but I´m not used to my patients having medical knowledge."

Airachnid resisted the urge to perch herself up on one of the platforms or one of her webs, resigning to merely bringing her limbs closer and crossing her arms. "You can´t just say that without specifying what happened. Come on Flare, we´re worried about you."

"We engaged an army of Cybertronian warriors." Said Ratchet while observing the Maker tending to his injured arm. He did not like the thought of her handling anything remotely dangerous near his person after the encounter with the Decepticon leader.

"Zombies? You fought zombies and I missed it?!"Mayhem exclaimed excitedly before Silverbot bonked her helm and gave her a snarl along with an angry look. Right, she´d screwed up bad and now the shame was coming back in double.

"Bulkhead you exercised extremely poor judgement in allowing Mayhem to accompany you." The Autobot leader chastised the wrecker. The bot should´ve know better than to act on his own after all the time he´d been under his leadership.

Bulkhead looked thoroughly embarrassed at being called out on his mistake but he knew he deserved it. "It won´t happen again Optimus, I promise."

"But it wasn´t Bulkhead´s fault." Mayhem would be dammed if she let the wrecker get the blame that should fall on her. It was at that moment she remembered the intel she´d brought back with her and almost wanted to facepalm at forgetting about it in the first place. "I almost forgot." She took out her holopad and clicked the center button to display the image of the Decepticon computer with the complicated equations. "I was hoping Rad would know what it was since he´s the math expert."

Optimus leaned in close and called on the one bot he knew that could understand the diagram. "Ratchet, have a look. I could be of importance to Megatron."

The medbot, who had just finished getting his cast welded shut, stood up with help from Solarflare and close while R used his viewpoint in the platform to see as well.

"Hold it. Megatron? Is that who you fought?" Silverbot did not want to believe his audio receptors. "Mom?"

Solarflare could only nod to her son.

"Sainted Solus, those are-" Began Radical.

"Engineering space-time specs for a space-time vortex generator." Ratchet finished the younger bot´s statement.

Doomsday did a double take. She knew the other, more common, designation for the scientific term. "A space-time bridge."

"That is correct. He´s building one at the very moment. If he hasn´t already." The Prime could not conceive news more grim. His initial thoughts had been right, only in a smaller scale.

"The sooner he leave the better." The wrecker could not see anything wrong with wanting to get off the planet but he was the only one not seeing the bigger picture the construction represented.

"Bulkhead, a spacebridge runs in two directions. Megatron may not be using it to leave Earth, but to bring though his conquering army."

"The main event Megatron referred to, but the only place he could possibly recruit that many fallen warriors…" The realization dawned onto the medbot and he looked at his leader, fear evident in his voice.

"Precisely. We cannot allow Megatron to send dark energon through his spacebridge. If we fail the dead of Cybertron rise, swarm through its vortex and invade Earth, damming humankind to Megatron´s twisted rule."

"Yes, but let´s not forget we´re also stuck here." Airachnid cut in. "If he invaded Earth we´d have nowhere to run. All of us."

"Airachnid´s right. We have no ship, no spacebridge, and no nothing out of this doomed planet." The Forger stood closer to her son while resisting the urge to pick him up.

"It is not doomed as of yet. We will do our best to prevent that ending." The Prime reassured both factions. "But for now we all must recharge. The day was long and the battles harsh, a plan must be formed before we engage the Decepticons once more."

* * *

Late into the night, long after Agent Fowler was picked up by a medical team and everyone had retired to their quarters two lone Autobots remained in front of the console in the dimly lit main room. Optimus requested that Ratchet examined the specs Mayhem had brought with her for any type of flaws they could exploit in order to prevent Megatron´s plan from coming to fruition but the medbot hadn't managed to find any so far. But that wasn´t the main reason they were staying up late while the others recharged.

Footsteps echoed down the hallway and the console was left alone for the time being. The one they´d been waiting for had arrived at last.

"Solarflare, I´m glad you came to meet us." Optimus turned to the lone Maker standing behind them.

"Not like I had choice." Solarflare gave a deadpan glare to the Autobot leader.

"We all have choices."

She almost snorted at that statement. "You know, for someone who supports the equal treatment of all Cybertronians you know very little about the caste system and where Makers stood for eons after Solus´ demise."

"In any case, we must be made aware of your relationship to Megatron. It might be of importance."

Ratchet stood by patiently but wanted nothing more than to prove what he´d known since his youth. Makers had always stood to the side of Cybertronian society, living off a myriad of means but the most profitable had always been the offer of ´companionship´ for a fee and he´d witnessed that method strip some bots of shanix at the speed of the faster racer on Velocitron. They were devious tricksters who´d do anything to get paid no matter what and to the Pit with their victims. "Consider yourself lucky this is not a large scale Autobot team because you´d have found yourself locked up and under constant interrogation." He said.

"Wow, I´m being treated with common decency from step one by Autobots. That´s a got to be a first." Solarflare´s words dripped with sarcasm one step away from becoming venomous. She had a lot of old memories on what their faction originally stood for and those who controlled it. And she´d controlled some of them at one point.

"Don´t take that tone with us. We accepted you into our team and our home with no questions. Now´s it´s time for due explanations." The medbot was becoming impatient. Could she not see that any information on their enemy was vital?

"But that does not give you the right to my life´s story. You have to face the fact I am still a Maker. I may look like I trust you but only to an extent, don´t hold any illusions about wanting to know about my private life."

"Please, Solarflare. We need you to tell us what you know about Megatron. He is a threat to Earth and you are stranded here along with your offspring and friends. What do you think should happen if he were to realize his evil plan? None of us will be safe. None of you will be safe." Optimus pleaded with the increasingly agitated Maker.

At the Autobot leader´s words something snapped inside Solarflare. They did not want the truth but didn´t know it just yet but she would show them. She would make them leaver her and her demons alone before her emotions got the best of her and she said something she´d deeply regret. "You want the truth? Very well, here it is: he used to be a client during his gladiatorial career. After Victory passed the community found itself with dwindling resources because he used to give half or more of his winnings to our fund. Because of that I went back to doing what I did best before we bonded and it was around that time Megatronus became champion and looked for an ´entertaining´ way of spending his earnings. "

"You are saying-"

"I know what I said." The seeker cut off the Prime´s words. "We were a communal society, I did whatever I could to keep it afloat since the Council´s only donations came in the form of payments for ´certain services´ and in exchange to keep blackmail at bay. Well, all except one but that´s not the point. I hope not to have to repeat myself on this subject."

"Is that the whole truth?"

"Ratchet…" Optimus warned. An angry Maker was something to be reckoned with, especially one they seen fight alongside them against an army of Terrorcons.

"Hump, for that you´d have to ask him." She turned and started walking away with no room for discussion. She´d already said too much. "I´ll be going to my quarters. Goodnight."

The shocked Autobots could only watch the Maker walk away in her seething anger. They´d guessed she´d reveal something along those lines but to hear her admit to it in person made the whole situation seem more surreal than anything else. When the footsteps quieted to the night´s silence their language skills returned.

The medbot broke the silence they were left with. "There´s more to this story than she lets on but I doubt we´ll have any luck prying it out of her."

"Then we wait." Optimus put a hand on his friend´s shoulder. "In time Solarflare will speak the whole truth."


	10. An end and new beginnings

**AN:** **"Darkness Rising, part 5"... I had no idea I could write this much in so little time. I had one hell of a time with this project and if you liked it please leave a REVIEW so I can know this story has a future. I wanted to go through all the episodes but I need to know people actually like my ideas.**

* * *

The next day everyone gathered after a good recharge to hear what the Autobot leader's plans were on how they would stop the threatening invasion of the Decepticon army. They'd certainly be going against a numerous army of devout Vehicons backed by none other than Megatron himself, not to mention the presence of both Soundwave and Starscream.

Ratchet, working from the specs Mayhem had brought, managed to locate the exact place where the construction should reside, but it did not inspire him with confidence. The medbot gathered up his courage turned to the team Prime leader to deliver the not-so-good news. "Optimus, I've pinpointed the location of Megatron's spacebridge… high in Earth's orbit."

"And out of our reach." Noted the Prime

"But not ours." Offered Silverbot.

It was true, every single one of the Makers had the capability of flight, save for Doomsday and Radical, but they alone wouldn't be enough to deter both the invading Terrorcon army and living one from conquering Earth. Optimus alone had eons of invaluable experience and the rest of the Autobots had fought though the war for Cybertron. The Makers were only the supporting cavalry while the Autobots were the real deal to fight against the Decepticon threat.

"While your thought is correct I will not allow you to venture into space alone. This is far too grave for you to handle on your own."

"Well, then, let's just groundbridge there." Mayhem stated, what to her, was the obvious. They could bridge just to anywhere on Earth, why not extend a little more and go to the outer atmospheric layers?

The medbot turned to the heavy-duty seeker and did his best not to blow a gasket. Did she not know what groundbridge meant? "The groundbridge has limited range. Stretched all the way into orbit its vortex could snap and scatter us to the stars." He even spread out his arms for emphasis on how badly the maneuver could go. "But I suppose for seekers it would not be that big of a deal."

"I could help." Doomsday raised her servo. "Give me enough time and parts and I could try to extend the range to make the trip safer."

"We do not have the time you ask for. Since Megatron is likely already in transit I'm afraid we must take the risk." Optimus turned to the offlined bridge and began heading forward. "Reaching the spacebridge first is our only means of stopping him. Autobots and Makers, prepare for departure."

With his leader's orders in place Ratchet reluctantly input the necessary set of coordinates and pulled the lever to take the team to other side of Earth's atmosphere. He watched the green vortex come to life and wished he could do something else to help his comrades besides remaining at the base and hoping for the best to happen.

"Doomsday, you stay behind with Radical and Ratchet." Solarflare put a hand on the Forger's shoulder and looked her in the optics. "Your lack of alt-mode could endanger you but if there is any hardware problem with the bridge you may be our only hope in the event things go sour."

"Please come back." Said Doomsday as she clung to her friend's frame in a spur-of-the-moment hug. "And keep an optic on Mayhem." She whispered.

"We'll all come back." Solarflare returned the Forger's gesture. "And you don't have to tell me." Reluctantly the Makers parted and waved their goodbyes. They hoped for the best but in their experiences wishing did not always equal guaranteeing a favorable outcome.

"Be safe everyone!" Radical smiled confidently at both Makers and Autobots. He wanted badly to go with them but with useless wings and a small frame it was obvious how he was not suited for that type of mission.

Mayhem bumped her shoulder with Bulkhead's in a friendly manner to get his attention and grinned when he looked at her. "This time I won't have to throw myself at you."

"And you should never do it again." The wrecker warned but he knew she was joking. Maybe the seeker really was growing onto him despite his past experiences with flyer types. He certainly would pick her any day of the week instead of any treacherous Decepticon, that was for sure.

"Optimus, if leave me stranded on a planet teeming with humans I will never forgive you." Ratchet warned the Prime but they both knew the warning came from a place of worry. It could very well be the last time they ever saw each other. After all they'd went through together he still couldn't accept a scenario where they'd have to say their final goodbyes.

"Until we meet again, old friend." Optimus didn't even turn to acknowledge the medbot's words, not wanting to let him see the worry that was also reflected in his optics. He would do his best to return once more but he was also willing to sacrifice his all for the good of mankind and his team.

"Autobots roll out!" "Makers take off!" Both leaders gave their orders and all eight Cybertronians transformed to their alt-modes, accelerating into the groundbridge right behind the mech and femme.

During their short stay inside the swirling green vortex all the bots noticed how it seemed to almost shake with the strain it was under to hold up but none said anything, choosing to focus on the exit. All of them were going at top speed so the seekers were the first to enter the boundless space frontier, just short of the Decepticon's spacebridge, shortly followed by the grounders.

"Everyone, transform and gravitize." Ordered the Prime.

They all returned to bipedal mode and adhered to the spacebridge though electromagnetic field in the soles of their pedes to the massive structure floating not far from Earth. Everyone landed safely, save by the poor wrecker who looked very uncomfortable from the view.

"Don't look down. Or up. Or left." Bulkhead repeated to himself while deciding which direction to focus on. When he noticed everyone looking behind him the green bot did the same only to face a fast approaching Nemesis that stopped shy of the spacebridge. Scrap. He definitely didn't like the view on that side either.

"You stormed that?!" Silverbot exclaimed to Mayhem but got response. For once she was speechless at the prospect of a fight.

"So, Megatron's packing enough dark energon to raise Cybertron's dead?" Asked Arcee. She didn't doubt the warlord would do something so out there, so crazy that it could have only have been born from a warped mind but still…

"And since we don't possess ready means of disabling the spacebridge," The Autobot leader onlined his weapons, prompting the other seven bots to do the same. "nothing gets in or out." He commanded.

The bots waited for the oncoming attack but nothing happened. Silence reined without a single shot fired from the large vessel. They shifted on their pedes with anticipation and yet the battle would not start no matter what. What were the Decepticons up to?

"Well? What are they waiting for?" Arcee asked the Autobot leader what everyone was thinking, gesturing with her blasters at the Nemesis. They possibly couldn't have missed the whole team arriving, so why hadn't they activated the bridge?

Optimus zoomed in on the ship, searching for any evidence on why their enemies refused to activate their construction, and noticed a missing satellite dish where a pile of cables laid disconnected. "It appears the Decepticons have sustained serious damage to their interstellar navigation system."

"The handiwork of our impulsive seeker, I assume?" Airachnid looked at Mayhem with a smirk. That little unauthorized trip had actually helped them in the long run. The heavy-duty femme really was lucky in all of her blunderings and half-assed plans. Almost like a blessing disguised as a curse.

"Nope!" The heavy-duty seeker smiled and nodded to Bulkhead. "His."

"Great job, Bulkhead." Praised Optimus. "Without the dish Megatron will be unable to aim the spacebridge at Cybertron."

* * *

Back at the base the three bots that were left behind huddled around the console listening in to the conversation. Ratchet defiantly occupied all the space in front of the controls while Doomsday and Radical watched from the sidelines.

"You'd think they'd know where their own planet is." Radical found it weird a mere satellite dish gone missing had been the best way to delay the Decepticons.

Ratchet scoffed. "They do. But since Cybertron is many lightyears away to reach their target their aim must be astronomically precise."

"If Megatron went through the trouble of rendezvousing with his spacebridge he must have an alternate targeting system. A remote one." Optimus' voice came though the speakers.

"Hmph. From what I know of Earth's technology I doubt there exists a single radio-telescope dish on this planet powerful enough to pinpoint Cybertron."

"What about a whole bunch of length radio-telescope dishes?" Radical had connected himself to one of the smaller computers and showed images of the facility on the screen. "Like the Giant Sized array in Texas?"

"Zip it! This is not child's play!" The medbot towered over the sparkling and made a motion for him to shut up. How could someone so young even know better than him?!

Doomsday forcefully pulled Ratchet back and grabbed him by his armor to look him in the optics with annoyance. "So you trust Radical to watch over the bridge but not to point out flaws in your thinking? Some jerk you are!" She was close to snarling and the medbot had to remind himself that beneath the 'fun and weird' modded look was a dangerous femme.

"Good thinking, Rad." The Autobot leader praised the younger bot's thinking. "Ratchet, have Agent Fowler alert the array's staff to the security hazard."

The Forger let go of Ratchet and straightened herself. "Good luck with that. The poor human left here with more than a mild case of dehydration. It's gonna take a while for him to even say anything coherent, let alone go back to defending his country or yelling out orders."

Radical had ignored his Carrier's actions, more annoyed than concerned, and tried hacking into the system but with no results. "Weird. I can't get past the array's firewalls. Usually I can get into any human defense systems."

"You? You actually think you could keep the Decepticons out?" Ratchet had his doubts but was unwilling to let them be known so… strongly that time around. Making an enemy out of a Forget over a sparkling was not something he fancied doing at the moment. Or ever.

"Sure! But I'd have to get in first."

"What if you went all the way in? Like, inside the building in?" Doomsday offered.

"Easy, I could log onto their internal network on the other side of the firewall."

"The risk is too great, the Decepticons will be there. Perhaps even on site." The Prime had already endangered the lives of many adult Cybertronians but the life of a sparkling was not something he was willing to risk so simply.

"You're conveniently forgetting a certain someone." The Forger huffed. She'd been underestimated enough in her past life on Cybertron to have grown tired of it during the first handful of times it had happened. "Do not equate having an alt-mode to knowing how to fight because I will wipe the floor with your aft when you come back just to prove my point."

The other side went quiet for a few moments before Optimus responded. "Very well. If you think you can keep your sparkling safe-"

"I know I can." She would always value his life over hers, without doubt or questions to it.

"Then go forward, Doomsday."

* * *

Inside the Nemesis the Decepticon warlord waited with barely contained glee at the thought of raising his new Terrorcon army and invading the pathetic planet known as Earth. He would enslave those who were not killed, or perhaps just go all the way and eliminate all organic life for easier resource gathering. Ah, so many entertaining options, he mused.

Megatron chuckled darkly at the sight of other Makers accompanying his long-time rival. "Optimus never disappoints." Then he turned to his SIC with a scowl. "Unlike you Starscream."

The seeker took an involuntary step back at the poisonous way his name was spoken but quickly regained his composure. "No need for concern, master. Soundwave is locking onto Cybertron's coordinates per my instructions." He looked leaned to the side to observe them Prime displayed on the monitor alongside four new Cybertronians, seekers on top of all things. Where on the literal Earth had Optimus found winged allies? "Surely Lord Megatron, the Autobots are up to something."

Megatron got up close to the cowering seeker, using his taller stature to inflict the uneasy and fear he enjoyed receiving from his SIC. "Really, Starscream?" He received a forced smile that sickened his dark energon-infested spark and turned to is console, banging his servo onto the speaker button to alert his troops. "Crush them! Leave the white and green seeker to me!"

Starscream said nothing, unwilling to further irritate his already enraged superior, but silently wondered why his leader had singled out the one bot. Anyway, that though didn't last long however, quickly being replaced by the resentment of having been pushed and kicked around for so long. Oh, how he wished the old ex-gladiator would just simply vanish…

* * *

Bulkhead looked at the several Vehicons that had left the Nemesis and were flying straight towards them. The Decepticons were finally attacking and he was itching for a good fight. "Here comes the welcoming committee."

The eight Cybertronians steeled themselves and when the shots started raining down on them the retribution was even greater, with every one of them fighting not only for their survival but for that of their comrades as well. Shots exchanged with many drones getting taken down by the large team when they attempted to land but even more prevailed, getting up close and personal with the Autobots and Makers.

Optimus and Bumblebee took the more classical approach to the fight, using their blasters at long range or crushing their enemies' helms on the floor with their bare servos. Still they prioritized taking down all the airborne drones, leaving the ones who'd already landed away from them to the rest of the team.

Bulkhead and Mayhem exchanged their blasters for more destructive weapons and smashed their way through any drone unlucky enough to attempt to take them down, although the femme did it with a little too much glee than needed. She'd never been in a real fight, the closest would be the training she'd received back at the Maker district, at her insistence, and she'd be damned if they lost to that Unicron worshipping bootleg…

Arcee and Solarflare traded their weapons as well but for their blades and rapiers respectively. Due to their smaller size and agility it was no trouble moving with lightning speed across the battlefield, even with lower gravity, and stab their way through the Decepticons ranks with ease. The two-wheeler had the most experience in the fighting field but the seeker hadn't let herself forget the training she'd gotten from Lariat. She was determined to make her teacher proud, even if unsure if the older femme was alive after so long.

Airachnid was the wild card, the unexpected. Her unusual frame and spider alt-mode allowed her to constantly keep moving and the extra appendages were as deadly as they were swift. Those who were not stabbed got shot by her blasters or even webbed then ended with one of the two previous options or, if they managed to get too close, with their visors melted off by her acidic touch. The accident had left her with lasting scars but she wouldn't let her past traumas hinder her from protecting those who took her in and gave her a new lease on life. She'd tear through the entire Decepticon army before she let anything happen to her friends.

Silverbot, unlike all the others, did not use weapons. He had blasters like everyone else but, compared to his more _personal_ method, they were inefficient. All he had to do was take a swipe with his claws to deal incapacitating or even deadly blows and, if the Vehicons still managed to get up, he could easily crush their helms in his servos with just a squeeze. His frame, just like his Sire's, was made to last so no blaster caused even so much caused a dent and there was only one thing missing to complete the look, something that he's always been reluctant to use. Victory's sword.

* * *

Doomsday and Radical slowly exited the bridge, as if a portal on the outside of a government base wouldn't attract any attention, and headed towards the entrance of the facility. The base could have went unnoticed if not for the giant satellite dishes that went on for quite a few miles. If there was a way to locate Cybertron the Giant Size Array was definitely the number one contender for the challenge.

The Forger used her clawed finger to poke out the lock on the door and pushed it open, making a motion to her son to enter. "Mind the wings." She said with amusement. If it wasn't for the pressing danger their little break-in could have made for an interesting field trip.

"Thanks, mom. Flare would have a fit if I even scratched the paintjob." Radical gave a smile and went in as silently as an alien robot could. He didn't wave back as he disappeared into a corner, he knew he'd see her again in a couple of minutes.

The small bot walked around the hallways, silently cursing his loud footsteps in such a quiet environment, and opened every door on his way to try and locate a decent computer through which to access the satellites' controls. There seemed to be no type of security around and although it made his job easier, made him wonder where all the humans were. After a few more doors he managed to locate a computer still running in a darkened room and, without bothering to turn on the lights to avoid any extra attention, connected himself and sat on the floor (the chair would only break under his weight, no matter how comfortable it looked).

"Hey, mom, everything calm in your end? I found a computer and I'm logging onto the server."

Doomsday had decided to sit on the ground with her back to the wall when no one had come to do a security check or whatever they did on that base. "Sure is. You'd have figured security would be tight in a place like this." Not a single armed guard or even a regular guard seemed to be around those parts. Was the base not that important to the humans?

"I'm in…" Radical cheered through the comm link but then realized something else was happening. He wasn't the only one in the system. "And so are the Decepticons. The specs Mayhem brought are right here."

"But you can stop them, right?"

"In theory. But first let me store them, I can transfer them to an external storage unit later." He put away the spacebridge diagrams in a spare part of his processor for temporary files. It wasn't advisable to do that but he had no human USB devices on him at the moment. "They're trying to sync onto the dishes, but I can sync to them."

"Won't they know someone is interfering with their plan?" Doomsday worried. If the Cons came for her son she'd never forgive herself for allowing something bad to happen to him.

"Well, yeah, but even if the Decepticons see that I'm in the system they won't know where I am. Now, let's dance, boys."

Radical tapped away on his keypad with a smile at being able to participate in what was supposed to be a final, grand battle against the Decepticon army. He'd wanted to be helpful and finally his small size had come to an advantage. However, both he and his Carrier were so focused on looking out for humans that they failed to realize their enemies could have had the same though on doing the job in person. Like the silent and deadly spymaster on the other side of the wall using one of his tentacles to directly access the server.

* * *

In orbit the spacebridge moved alongside the satellite dishes on the base, almost throwing off-balance the confused bots. The Decepticons' plans seemed to be already in progress after all.

"What just happened?" Airachnid had to steady herself after almost losing her footing alongside the rest of the team. Looking at her pedes she saw the Vehicon she'd just knocked down was still alive and attempting to get up, so it was only a matter of using one of her spidery limbs to go right through his processor. Much better.

Optimus looked at the blue planet, worried about both sparkling and Carrier he'd sent on a mission to the human satellite base. "The Decepticons are locking onto Cybertron."

"What are those two doing, then?" The spider-femme stabbed another Vehicon coming straight at her. Those were some annoying bugs that couldn't just stay down

* * *

While the fighting bots' sparks raced with dread at the thought of the portal to Cybertron opening on the Nemesis the emotion was an entirely different one.

Excitement at the prospect of finally dominating over the Autobots and claiming Cybertron for the Decepticon cause reined throughout the spark of Megatron. He would finally achieve what he was deserving of ever since he'd began the movement back on Cybertron to abolish the caste system. They'd refused to make him Prime so he would take that title by force and show all those condescending Autobots who was indeed the superior fighter.

Starscream worked the console panel with his leader breathing down his neck cables with every key stroke. They were close to having the definite upper hand and yet he still felt every involuntary twitch beneath the gaze of the bigger mech. "Lord Megatron, the spacebridge is ready for activation!"

"Finally." The Decepticon warlord had grown tired of waiting. While watching the Autobots struggle against his troops proved to be entertaining he still had goals to accomplish. Once they'd won he would take his time and savor the victory he deserved.

When SIC tried to engage their bridge nothing happened. His optics widened and he pushed the button again and again in panic. Why wasn't their bridge working?!

"Starscream, what is happening?"

The panicked seeker stammered in fear before contacting their silent soldier. He would not suffer for the failing of another! "Soundwave, what is happening?!"!"

* * *

Back on Earth the Decepticon surveillance officer heard the grating screeching of the SIC and felt the urge to physically silence the seeker for good, like many times in the past, but suppressed the unneeded emotions as always.

With quick internal motions, Soundwave searched though the base's security footage and found a sparkling, of all things, interfering with their operations. Curious. He hadn't seen a youngling since the war had begun, the death tolls hitting the ones who couldn't defend themselves the hardest, and much less a seekerlet out of all things. Somewhere deep in his spark, where some remainder of his stronger emotions still resided, he felt the urge to protect one of the last remainders of innocence, of oblivion to all that was darks that happened back in Cybertron. He'd promised himself not to only take a vow of silence until Decepticon rule was achieved and the remnants of the cast system abolished, but also to try and protect the young and defenseless and teach them of the bright future Megatron had promised. A future where the oppressed miners like themselves would reign above those who'd oppressed them.

While Soundwave pondered what to do with the intruder on the Decepticon's plans, outside Doomsday watched the satellite dishes return to their initial position.

The femme cheered at her son's brilliant qualities as an expert in all manner of software. "Great job, Rad! But, what happens when the Cons realize someone's messing with the system?" She certainly did not want to endanger him further. One thing was her recklessly putting herself in harm way but with her son was another totally different matter.

"Don't worry, it's only virtual combat. Like an online game. They're all the way up there while I'm here with you for backup." Radical reassured his Carrier while he kept typing away.

Unfortunately, he was so focused on his cyber counterattack that he didn't notice the surveillance camera in the room had moved a while back or the metal tentacle push the door open silently until it gently gabbed him, lifting him up in the air and away from the computer, forcefully disconnecting his wrist cable from the machine.

"Gah! What the-?! Let go of me!"

The slithering appendage did not show any signs of wanting to let go of sparkling, but the small bot had a trick up his metaphorical sleeve. He pulled a small patch from his subspace and stuck it onto the offending purple tentacle, numbing the claw at the tip and getting it to let him go and quickly retreat back to where it had come from.

But where had the sudden attack via tentacle had come from?

"Rad, what happened?!" Doomsday, having heard her son scream through the comm link, was on her pedes faster than a lighting bolt and ready to tear the whole base down. She would not let him get hurt under her watch!

"Something just-" The mech gathered his wits but, when he looked at the screen, noticed the satellite dishes were locked onto Cybertron once more.

As quickly as he'd reacted to the attack, Radical reconnected himself to the network and typed away at his keypad with a sense of urgency, but that time they did not budge, no matter what he did. Looking back he found the tentacle was likely gone for good and made the connection.

"Uh-oh. This isn't good. You're not going to like what I have to tell you…"

Outside, the Forger heard an engine and looked overhead to see a sleek jet take off into the atmosphere. It certainly wasn't one of them, so there was only one option left. A really bad one.

"Frag that! I just saw a Con take off, are you alright?" If her sweetspark said no she would plow right through the concrete walls like they were made out of paper.

"Yeah…" Radical had abandoned the room he'd used to access the network and went down the hallway and through a big set of doors, hoping to find the origin of the surprise attack, only to find the control unit and its hard line cut. "But he cut off the only way we had to move the dishes. They're locked on for good."

There was nothing else anyone could do from down below. Now, it was up to the others to try and find a way to stop the imminent invasion via the spacebridge before they were up to their neck cables in Terrorcons.

* * *

Up above, among the stars, the bridge activated with a bright blue glow, startling the Autobot and Maker warriors. It seemed Radical had only managed to hold back Megatron's plans and not to put a stop to them.

The energy pulsing through the gigantic constructions could be felt through their whole frames, but nothing could have prepared them to see a huge cluster of dark energon crystals being launched from the ship, soar above their helms, and go through to the other side of the vortex.

It had already begun and they were too late to stop the fallen warrior from awakening from their slumber.

"No! Optimus, I'm so sorry!" Solarflare lamented as she gazed at the blue vortex above their helms. They'd just dispatched all the Vehicons only to have their small victory tarnished by a bigger failure. "I thought they could do it, Radical was good but not enough to stop this madness."

"Arise my legions!" Megatron shouted from his place on top of the Nemesis and, even though the opposing bots could not hear him, a chill rang though their very essences.

Autobots and Makers gathered up to look into the portal, waiting for the inevitable to happen. It was far too easy to picture the purple crystals crash onto their once vibrant planet, now a mere shell of what it once had been, and taint the remains of fallen warriors with Unicron's blood, causing them to once more fight in the war that had extinguished their sparks for the first time.

* * *

"Optimus!" Ratchet, having been rejoined by Doomsday and Radical, reported while looking at a frightening diagram with blinking dots converging onto the spacebridge. "I'm registering a rapidly expanding mass in their spacebridge vortex. One with a peculiar energy signature."

"Dark energon." The Prime concluded. "Ratchet, we must destroy the spacebridge. There's enough live energon coursing through it to achieve detonation, but we lack the firepower to ignite it." With some reservations he revealed the plan B he'd devised in case the dark energon managed it across to Cybertron. Energon was easily combustible and, with the amount they were likely blowing up, they should be able to stop the invasion.

The medbot though for a brief moment, carefully pondering his knowledge, before giving a reply. "If I knew how the spacebridge was engineered I might find a way of accomplishing that feat."

Radical, having heard the exchange, was fast to connect his wrist cable himself to the console and downloading the schematics he'd stolen. It had been dangerous but the reward had made the risk he took worth it.

"Good enough for you?" He smiled.

To Ratchet's surprise the schematics for the Decepticon spacebridge came on screen. Quickly running through them he began devising a plan that, although theoretically could work, would be extremely dangerous and close-cutting. An explosion that size would take out anyone caught in it and he'd seen enough teammates fall throughout the war to allow any more casualties.

Contemplating the situation they had on hand, Ratchet finally made his decision. "Optimus, I must say, the spacebridge is our sole hope of ever returning to Cybertron. Are you certain its destruction is the only option?"

"I am afraid so." Was the Prime's unhesitant response.

"Then, by all means, let us light our darkest hour!"

Doomsday smiled. "Be careful, I can see your mad scientist side showing."

* * *

"Everyone, take your positions and follow Ratchet's lead." Optimus ordered to the bots, who complied at once, and turned to the incoming Decepticon leader flying in their direction. "While I make my stand."

Once again the two Cybertronians would clash. Fate was indeed curious, they'd started as friends who fought for the same thing, abolishing the caste system and liberating the ones it oppressed, but, once the tile of Prime came about, a rift had opened between the two mechs and divided them into opposite sides that would clash foe eons to come. Optimus hoped his friend was still somewhere to be found but, deep down, knew that was not the case, Megatronus having long perished to the call of the darkness in his spark.

Megatron landed with a display of force and took in the sigh of the fleeing bots. They did well in knowing they could not face the power of Unicron, but his interest laid in only one of them. _Her_. "Your fellow Autobots are wise Optimus, they know when to retreat. Although, I must say, I have no idea where you pulled the Makers from, so bravo, but they will not save you from annihilation."

"We hold no illusions about engaging your army, Megatron. But I might derail its objective. By removing its head." The Prime drew his blade to illustrate his resolve. He would not back down until victory was certain.

At the sound of those words the Decepticon leader laughed. "Highly unlikely, Optimus, as I am infused with their very might."

"One shall stand, one shall fall."

Megatron let out a cry at the words of his opponent, drew his blade as well, and launched himself in a brutal relentless attack. Blades clashed against each other and armor as well, both mechs being evenly matched, even after being at war with the other for so long.

The two giants clashed in a combat of forces and will, neither willing to back down at such a crucial moment. Their battle went on for what seemed eons, once more time seeming irrelevant to the two forces of each side, but at one point someone had to gain the upper hand and, unfortunately, the Autobot had been the one to suffer.

With a well-aimed swing Megatron sliced through the Optimus' blade and took advantage of his enemy's surprise to punch him, knocking him into the air, and then grabbing his pede and repeatedly slam him painfully into the metal ground. He was about to deliver the finishing blow, a mercy killing in his opinion, when a pest decided to interrupt his moment.

"Master." Came the SIC's voice through the comm

"Starscream. WHAT IS IT?!" Why was that fool interrupting him when he was about to achieve a long-awaited goal?!

"I do wish to question your all-seeing wisdom but I believe the Autobots and their new arrivals are up to something again. Beneath your bridge this time."

With a slow-blooming grin, the Decepticon Lord gazed at his fallen opponent. "Ah, misdirection, Optimus. You'd have made a fine Decepticon." Megatron once more raised his blade to finally extinguish his enemy's spark but Optimus blocked the blade with what was left of his broken one.

"I chose my side." The Autobot leader struggled against the impact before diverting the blade away and onlining his blaster, shooting the Decepticon at close range and, with the lack of gravity, away and almost into the portal.

A barrage of shots prevented Megatron from regaining his footing and he decided it would be best to turn into his alt-mode and fly to the underside of his bridge. "Starscream, my army approaches. Rendezvous with the spacebridge for the pickup." There were some pests he needed to exterminate.

* * *

Back at the base Radical was doing his job as fast as possible, typing away at the keypad and watching the schematics run on the screen. He'd finally located the piece Ratchet instructed him to look for among the plans. This time he would show what he was capable of and help them win this fight!

"Ratchet, we're in position." Arcee commed in, waiting on the instructions

"Arcee, pay close attention. I need you all to locate the flow generator and follow the line to the energon pump. There should be a valve." Instructed the medbot.

The two wheeler followed the line transporting the energon right up to a conglomerate of parts and what looked like what she'd been told to locate. Stranding confidently forward she knelt down to take a closer look. Without a doubt it was indeed the correct part.

"I see it." She pressed a nearby button to eject the top part for her to be able to grip it.

"Good, to turn all that power against itself all you need do is reverse the current."

Arcee grabbed the handles and twisted, putting all her strength into it, and, although taking her all to twist the part, and successfully reversed the flow, prompting a chain of blue parks to spread across the pipeline.

"Got it, current reversed." She backed away from the machinery and knew what would be coming next.

"Woohoo! We did it!" Cheered Doomsday.

"I'll ready the groundbridge." With that Ratchet went to insert the coordinates and hoped the machine would be able to handle the stress at least once more.

The seven bots were close to celebrating their successful mission to put a halt on the Decepticon's plans and were more than ready to leave when an awfully familiar Decepticon jet showed up out of nowhere and opened fire on the bots. They drew their blasters and returned the shots, doing their all to attempt and keep Megatron at bay, when one of their enemy's shots hit Arcee on the chest, causing her to lose her grip onto the spacebridge and begin floating away with her loss of consciousness.

"Arcee!" Silverbot screamed at the femme drifting at the mercy of space's lack of gravity getting further and further away.

The triple-changer ran up and managed to grab the injured femme's arm and held her close to his chest. He looked over to see parts of the bridge collapsing and Megatron heading into the vortex, attempting to salvage his army. Tough luck! Silverbot made a motion for everyone to retreat towards the edge and ran alongside them to where a groundbridge should be opening for them soon.

Solarflare had done her best to keep the distance, but she could still feel the weight of her actions from long ago, feeling herself freeze up and unable to do anything while he fired down on the team. She counted herself lucky the hateful mech had left right away but not before he'd caused some damage. Just like that time so long ago. No! That was not the time to agonize over something done so long ago. Fleeing with the others she attempted to clear her processor of those memories, both cherished and cursed.

Optimus soon joined the fleeing Autobots and Makers making their way to safety, glad to know everyone would be able to flee before the explosion occurred. "Optimus, the groundbridge is ready and waiting." Ratchet came in though the comm.

"Autobots and Makers, jump!" Shouted the Prime as they neared the end of their path.

With a last stretch they all jumped over the edge into the swirling vortex, their bridge closing behind them and leaving the doomed Decepticon leader behind.

Megatron watched as all his work came crashing down, his army just shy from joining his ranks still inside the collapsing spacebridge. He turned around to find… nothing. That backstabbing idiotic seeker had disobeyed his orders!

"Starscream, where is my ship?!" He bellowed into his comm.

Inside the retreating vessel, the SIC, surrounded by warning sirens, was panicking and staring at the controls. When the Autobots were involved, especially Optimus Prime, the plans almost always tended to go the wrong way and he'd preemptively not moved the vessel closer to the spacebridge in fear of such an ending to their machinations.

"We would never make it, lord Megatron. Don't be a fool and take flight and retreat!" The seeker shouted back at his master, unwilling to endanger the whole Nemesis on a maneuver that would certainly doom them all.

Megatron closed his comm and stared at the army of Terrorcons he'd risen come closer to him. "My legion." He whispered.

It was all coming together. His unending work to gather all that dark energon and resurrect an army that would bow without question to his every word could not be domed such easily! He was Megatron, former top gladiator of the darkest Pits of Kaon and he'd risen to power with words alone, amassing a following that would declare war on the Council when he'd ordered them to. This was not how it all was supposed to end!

The spacebridge began exploding around him and he could not stay still while his dreams of conquest were once gain foiled by Optimus Prime.

"NO!" The warlord attempted closer to the portal but, in his spark, he knew he was was doomed.

A massive blue explosion lit up the area, taking the army and Decepticon leader with it, rocking the giant spaceship heading back to Earth with the surviving forces.

On the inside of the retreating vessel, the Decepticon army mourned the loss of their once great leader and, not a moment too soon, they were called to the bridge for an announcement. Without a lord to command them something had to be done. They were still at war with the Autobots and needed someone to take the command of their forces.

"Decepticons, it is with deep sorrow that I note for the log: Megatron's spark has been extinguished." Starscream spoke with sorrow in front of the troops for their offlined leader, but then stood up straight with a dangerous gleam in his optics as he turned around to address a more important issue. "All hail Starscream."

Finally it was his turn to take control of the Decepticon forces and instill a new rule that would surely be remembered for the ages to come. His lifelong dream had come to fruition at last and he'd prevail where his predecessor had failed. The conquest of Earth and elimination of the Autobots.

* * *

At the base the three bots looked expectantly at the open groundbridge, sparks about to break out of their casings with how fast they were beating. With every moment that passed and no one came through a little twinge of hope died within them but they refused to cave in so soon to despair.

They'd survived so far, separated from their loved ones by a catastrophic war, scattered to the galaxies far and wide beyond their home planet, and hope would be the last to die!

"Do you think they're…?" Rad had allowed his Carrier to pick him up and hold him with his back to her chest while they waited for their friends to come through. He stared at the green vortex, worried about who'd come back worse for the wear.

Ratchet looked at his wrist display. "Eight life signals… one very faint." He noted. Could it be that Megatron had finally managed to…?

When the situation began to darken footsteps were heard at last and Optimus was the first to come through, easing Ratchet's worries, followed by Bulkhead and Bumblebee. A somber Silverbot came next, carrying the injured Arcee, and finally Solarflare, Mayhem and Airachnid showed up, allowing the portal to close behind them.

The triple-changer stared at the femme in his arms along with the others. He didn't want to believe it could end like that, it just couldn't. No one said a work but when the femme moved in the mech's arms and let out pained groans they all let out a sigh in relief.

Arcee slowly opened her optics and smiled at Silverbot. "Still holding me for that ride, I see."

"You're worse than Mayhem." He pushed back the urge to cry with relief as enough energon had been spilled already. He passed the femme onto Ratchet's arms with reluctancy.

"Hey!" Said seeker let out a protest and poked her glossa out with a grin.

"And Megatron?" Ratchet asked Optimus while he took the injured two-wheeler in his arms with care.

"Not even he could have survived ground zero." Responded the Prime.

At those words Doomsday set Radical down and launched herself into the arms of her longtime friend with a joyous cheer. "Flare, did you hear?! He's finally offlined!"

Airachnid put her arm around the femme's shoulders in a one-armed hug. "How's about that for a welcome to the team gift?"

Solarflare laughed wholeheartedly but soon after began crying as well. She wiped the energon tears and embraced her friends. "Couldn't have asked for a better one." She then looked at the Autobot leader without parting from the hug. "I'm sorry for my tone yesterday. But don't think I'll ever tell you the rest of the story. It's in the past now… everything is."

"All in due time, Solarflare." Optimus hadn't resigned to settling for the information she'd relied but he wouldn't pry. "Without a means of leaving this world we Autobots take strength in the bonds we forged with you all. Makers are warriors both in body and in spirit and I fully acknowledge you as full members of our team, even if remaining a different faction."

The Decepticons would still be after them, all of them that time around, and they would fight back with everything they had. With Megatron gone their ranks would be in a disarray but it was likely Starscream would assume the position left empty without too much protest. Regardless of what happened with their strengths put together Autobots and Makers would come out victorious.

"Alright! Time to break out the high-grade, we need to celebrate!" Mayhem put her arms up and cheered, causing everyone to laugh. "Whoa!" The femme felt herself being grabbed from behind and her pedes leaving the ground.

Silverbot lifted his sister up in his hug and gave her his widest smile. "Yes, we do."


	11. Kick the habit

**AN:** Honestly the high-grade thing you´re about to read here was supposed to be only Doomsday´s problem until I made Maker culture a bit more depressing bellow the surface and threw it in there for the mix. FYI I am not an expert in addiction and do not claim to have a lot of medical knowledge.

* * *

Ratchet wandered into the control room with a rare smile. Mayhem and Silverbot had went out earlier to stretch their wings, Arcee and Bulkhead were on patrol and Bumblebee and Radical hadn´t left the younger bot´s berthroom in favor of playing videogames. While he could not account for the older Maker´s whereabouts they were doing whatever they pleased quietly and he appreciated it.

The medbot hadn´t expected, however, to see his old friend looking downcast and sulking about, for lack of a better term. "Optimus, why so glum? This planet, all planets, are finally free from Megatron´s tyranny." There was one less evil to deal with in the Universe, shouldn´t they be glad for that?

"I do not disagree, Ratchet. It´s just… a small part of me hoped to change Megatron´s mind, not extinguish his spark." The Autobot leader shook his helm, disappointed at his inability to have saved the mech that he once had called his friend. They´d walked side-by-side for long before the ex-gladiator´s demands for power made him show his true colors.

"Optimus! His vileness was not slain by your hand, but by his own twisted arrogance." The prime let out a grave sigh at his friend´s words and the medbot quickly tried to contain the damage. "I´m sorry, I know the two of you had quite a history."

"But the Megatron I once fought beside perished eons ago the day he chose to become a Decepticon." The Prime turned to face Ratchet. "The Decepticons may be at a disarray but they are not without leadership and while Starscream is no Megatron he is far from predictable."

Just as Optimus finished his words a loud was heard followed by the sound of metal parts falling to the floor.

"Decepticons!" Exclaimed Ratchet.

Startled, both ran towards the source of the noise, weapons ready to be drawn at first sight of the enemy but, fortunately, that was not the case. They only saw Doomsday, the femme sitting down with a large crate turned over on the floor and several metallic parts scattered around her they let out a breath of relief.

With a snarl the Forget looked up at the Autobots. Interruptions were not going to be tolerated if she wanted to get over with her task as fast as possible. "Not Decepticons, you burnout! I´m gonna assemble our high-grade refiner/dispenser. We had to take it apart to move it safely and since he have none left I need to rebuild it ASAP before we lose our minds."

"You are not-" Ratchet paused what he was saying when he fully processed the Maker´s words. "Wait! Burnout?! I´ll have you know my ranking did not come from idle chit-chat during the war and I´m still very capable of landing a blow on your helm!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Doomsday waved a servo in dismissal and went back to her project. "Now could I do this in peace, please? I´m on a schedule here, people."

"Doomsday, I´m sorry to inform you but I cannot sanction the refinement of our already low energon reserves for recreational purposes." Optimus explained.

Ever since the war had begun any and all energon resources had to be accounted for and kept from being used for more than fueling Cybertronians and their machines. Where once there had been a plethora of cuisine involving several materials now stood the energon cube, easy to transport and fuel efficient. High-grade was akin to human alcohol in the sense it had the effect of inebriating anyone who drank enough of it and a drunk bot was a dead bot in the battlefield, so all refinement to that point was discontinued.

The femme didn´t look up to meet the Autobot leader´s optics and instead chose to scour her memory on how to assemble her equipment. "Just ask the government for more, dim-spark." The lack of high-grade was getting to her, she was starting to curse more frequently and not just in her processor. It was of utmost importance to get some of the substance into her systems before Radical showed up and all her hard work suppressing that part of her would be lost.

"Were you not informed? The minute you moved in with us the humans stopped supplying your energon, you´ll have to scout to obtain it like we all have."

That got her to drop the welder she´d just picked up with a ´clang´. "What…?" It took only a few moments before full panic settled in her spark and Doomsday stood up to call for help. "FLARE! SOLUS SAVE US ALL, WE´RE DOOMED! I NEED YOU FLARE! PLEASE!"

The seeker in question came literally flying from down the hall and when she transformed Solarflare had to steady her spark before taking a look around only to take in the calm environment. They weren´t being attacked, there was no natural disaster, nobody had come in injured, so why had the Forger yelled? It was already bad enough she was beginning to feel the withdrawal approach and now that had just sped up her condition.

With an exasperated grunt Solarflare let her wings drop and relaxed her posture. "Dammit, you know what I´m like at the moment. If you made me fly all the way here worried about nothing I´m going to-"

Doomsday put her hands on her friend´s shoulders and shook her erratically. "We can´t refine high-grade! Why didn´t you tell us the big guys stopped supplying us?!"

"What? No they didn´t." She slapped the Forger´s servos off of her.

"I´m afraid so." Optimus cut in on the Maker´s talk. "I was under the impression you´d been told."

"No. I mean, he said he´d cut us off if we didn´t move but… Oh, no. This is bad." Solarflare composed herself and slowly put her servos on either side of Doomsday´s helm. "Deep breaths. You can do this." The previously panicked femme followed the advice and managed to calm down. "That´s it, you´re doing great. Feeling better?"

Doomsday smiled anxiously and nodded. "Yeah. I mean… yeah. Just…. I´m not looking forward to what happens next. I guess it´s fate´s way of telling us we´ve put this off for long enough."

Ratchet had grown increasingly tired of watching the back-and-forth with no understanding of what was going on. He did recall Makers were renowned for the amount of high-grade they both produced and consumed. "I cannot see what all this drama is for. So, you have a source of entertainment cut off, use that time to go out on patrol or do something more productive."

"You have no idea, do you? Makers consume high amounts of high-grade for a reason. Well, several, depending on who you´re referring to."

"Solarflare, I think you better explain this in further detail." Optimus did not have more than a basic grasp on Maker culture. Throughout his life he´d always avoided any type of situation involving any bot belonging to that faction and even when Megatronus had suggested they appeal to them he´d voiced his concerns. He looked back on his younger mind with some embarrassment after having met Solarflare and her team but he still held some reservations…

"You want details? To escape the reality of our situation, and suppress a few memories in some cases, a lot of Makers resorted to regular doses of high-grade to maintain a, let´s call it, positive outlook on life. As long as there´s a certain percentage of it circulating in our systems we´re fine, but if there´s a crash we´ll go through a withdrawal period until we go back to a normal state where high-grade is no longer necessary. I regularly drowned myself in that stuff after Victory passed just to keep the grief from knocking me into stasis, it helped me stay positive until I was over it, but then there was so much of it I never kicked the habit and I have no idea why I´m telling you this oh Solus I´m going into withdrawal faster than I expected." Solarflare hid behind her servos, ashamed the Autobots were witnessing a very low moment for her.

Doomsday, having become the calmer one, took it from there. "What she´s trying to say is that I´ll curse like no tomorrow, Airachnid is going to try to bed anything that moves and she´ll get super truthful. Also, there may be wild ups and downs to our emotional state. Getting clean will be a slag-sucking ordeal like a glitch."

The Forger had started drinking long ago in her youth. At first it was merely for entertainment, a fun way to kill some time between commissions, but as time went on the more reasons kept her from stopping. Her source of entertainment became her escape from reality and soon enough she couldn´t maintain her trademark cheerful mood without some of that sweet poison running though her system. It had been hard to admit that if she´d never raised Radical she´d probably have had spent the rest of her lifecycle going through spare parts and wouldn't have cut back to a mere fraction of what she used to consume.

"That is… highly unusual." Optimus was still at a loss of words but as a leader he needed to be able to deal with any situation, substance addiction included. "But none the less you shall have pull through, we cannot allow the improper use of the energon we acquire."

"Well, then I´ll be seeing you at a later date." Airachnid fell down from the ceiling to land behind her friends. "I don´t know about these two but I´m locking myself in my berthroom until this is over. I´ve got repressed memories from an old, let´s call him friend, and of another older more-than-a-friend friend and I need to deal with them alone." She then smirked and winked at Ratchet. "Unless someone would like to help me."

A disturbed shiver went through the medbot´s back strut. "Not in this or any other lifetime."

The spider-femme shrugged, already expecting the reply. "Suit yourself." Interfacing had become her escape after the accident but she´d pull through without it. Any amount of emotional pain would pale in comparison to when _he_ had rejected her Maker nature.

Doomsday approached Optimus and made a motion for him to kneel down to her height which he gladly complied. "Tell Bumblebee to watch over Rad until I feel better, will you? I really don´t want to swear in front of him. I did enough of that in the past already." She asked with an embarrassed smile.

"I shall." The Prime was glad to see even though they were becoming agitated the sense of responsibility was still there although he chose not to further the thoughts about the sparkling knowing unsavory language, even if he´d already heard some of it.

The Forger suddenly narrowed her optics and grabbed the Autobot by the windshield on his chest. "Good, because if by the time I come out something happened to the light of my world that fragging wingnut will be missing some bearings before he can say anything. You too, by the way." In an instant she was smiling shyly once more. "Now, if you´ll excuse me this glitch has suppressed emotional issues to deal with."

Airachnid took the cue to grab her friend´s arms and pull them along to their respective quarters. "Let´s go, the Prime is starting to look good and I don´t like that one bit."

Optimus and Ratchet were out of words by the time they watched the three Makers leave. They could have had an easy time believing Airachnid and Doomsday had past issues suppressed deep down with the help of high-grade and in need of being dealt with but Solarflare? The same femme who´d fought alongside them relentlessly against a hoard of Terrorcons with no faltering and deadly precision was being held together by an addiction that apparently plagued most Makers in existence.

"Optimus, please tell me what just happened?" Ratchet wished badly to erase the memories from his processor, in particular those of the purple and black spider.

"You just saw a part of mom no one´s seen in a loooong time." Mayhem´s voice echoed though the main room. Startled, the two Autobots looked at the smiling heavy-duty seeker as she waved while leaning against the exit hallway door. "Hi!" It was impressive how someone known for her impulsive nature was able to take a silent approach when putting in the effort.

Silverbot came from behind the wall and stood behind his sister with a nonchalant expression. "Don´t worry, they´ll be fine. I can´t tell you in how long but they´ll be fine." He´d seen Makers that cut down on their high-grade consumption and come out alright, exhausted both physically and mentally but always in one piece by the end of their experience. However none had completely purged the substance from their system but those three had survived though a lot, getting clean would be no problem… he hoped.

"I don´t know how they were fine before. You faction is crazier than I remembered." The medbot hoped the responsibility of putting them back together by the end of their self-imposed temporary exile would not fall onto him. Just Doomsday´s mods alone and Airachnid´s frame type would be nightmares to deal with.

"Well, when you only have a home with no chances of leaving your birth conditions imposed by a strict caste system you take what you can get. Intoxicated or not that femme raised both of us and we could have turned out worse."

* * *

A week had passed since the three femmes had retreated to their quarters without much happening. To the surprise of the Autobots everything had remained calm, one of the reasons why being that Radical had set up a Cybertronian-sized gaming system in one of the corners of the main room so Mayhem was kept fairly entertained and did not cause mischief when she wasn't outside on patrol.

Having been shooed more times than he could count from both the gaming and control consoles Radical had settled for sitting on a crate while listening to one of Bumblebee´s many stories about the war. The scout was beeping animatedly and at certain times pointed his blasters at a non-existent enemy behind the sparkling as if it was actually there.

"Really? Then how do you make warrior class?" The smaller bot was thoroughly enjoying knowing more about the ward they´d all (thankfully) missed. More beeps answered his question but Radical got a little confused. "But you´re great out there, you´re awesome."

Bumblebee beeped in agreement and Optimus put a hand on his shoulder at that moment. "I second your opinion, Rad, but Autobot hierarchy is different from the one you´re used to and though it may be hard to believe our young scout still has much to experience."

An alarm went off at the console and Ratchet was quick to figure out the emergency "Exposed energon. And it´s on the move."

Bulkhead came closer. "And since we ain´t movin´ it, guess who must be."

"Decepticons." Arcee finished.

Roused from her fixation on the 2D fighting game Mayhem took an interest in the event as well. She dropped her remote and leaned over both Cybertronians. "Without Megatron?"

"Unfortunately Megatron´s legacy will live on, as other rise to take his place." Optimus knew that with Starscream at the forefront of the Decepticon cause they would get no more rest than with Megatron. "Autobots, you remain behind. Ratchet, I may require aid."

"And leave them unsupervised? I´m sorry but unless it´s critical I will remain behind." The medbot did not fancy leaving his equipment close to the ´splash zone´ in case something went wrong and with more than one bot capable of creating unintentional serious damage

"Oh, pick me! Pick me!" Mayhem jumped from one pede to the other and waved her arm in the air with a huge smile. If she couldn't barge her way into a mission she´d just have to get picked then.

Optimus calmly nodded to the excited seeker. "Very well. Bumblebee, Mayhem, let us see about this energon in transit."

"For real?! Yay! I get to go on a real mission! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

The Autobot leader hoped she´d do well on the mission. He could use a heavy-hitter if there were a Decepticon attack and according to Bulkhead she´d held her ground without a problem when storming the Nemesis. The Prime had also paid attention at the spacebridge and it was obvious the seeker had some training resembling a mixture of various styles, he´d even spotted some cyber-ninja as well.

Soon after the three bots disappeared into the groundbridge with a ´see you later´ and a thumbs up from Mayhem. It was her time to shine and show that even without her Carrier around she could behave and act according to her age.

"Aren´t you going to complain?" Arcee turned to Silverbot, who was taking a seat on the ground in front of the gaming console next to Radical.

"What for? Megatron´s gone, she can handle herself." He picked up the biggest remote and motioned for the smaller bot next to him to select his character. "Ready to dance, Rad?"


	12. To fight or not to fight

**AN:** Nothing much to say here except that if it wasn´t for **OPIv2** here and **Rowena_Bensel** on AO3 I wouldn´t have had the drive to keep the story going.

* * *

The groundbridge opened at the bottom of a canyon and Mayhem had to reel in excitement not to shove aide the two mechs just to exit the portal first. She could do it, she could be responsible and follow any orders she was given with no problem whatsoever… Well, at least she´d try very hard to do so. For her Carrier.

Bumblebee beeped with confusion. There were no Decepticons in sight. They´d expected there to be a new mine being dug out but machinery of that caliber made a lot of noise and the site was quiet.

"No Bumblebee, it does not. Hold your positions and await my command." Optimus commanded while he went ahead alone, leaving the younger bots behind as backup.

"That´s it?" Mayhem complained. She wanted action but had gotten stuck on guard duty. Still, she´d obey, no matter how much her processor was telling her to go with Optimus.

The scout beeped with a frown and gestured to where the groundbridge had opened. If she didn´t like it she was welcome to leave least there was an incident caused by her impulsiveness.

"Yeah, yeah, I´m not going anywhere." The femme held her servo up. "Promise."

* * *

Soundwave finished pulling the large black metal container from the rocky wall all by himself, the new Decepticon Lord was above such menial labor, after all. It had taken a week to locate it but, if everything went according to plan, their new addition to the ranks would bolster morale and finish off the Autobot pests once and for all.

Starscream stared at the stasis pod that contained one of the mightiest Decepticon warriors to ever join their ranks. When he´d addressed the Vehicon troops he was not met with the praise and glory he deserved, rather distrust and doubt of his leadership skills. He didn´t have Megatron´s heavy-duty frame, nor his commanding attitude, but he was the rightful heir to the former warlord´s empire. He needed troops to inflict terror and chaos onto his enemies´ sparks and none under his command were up to the task. Except for one.

"Soundwave, the cube." Ordered Starscream. He took the glowing blue energon from Soundwave´s servos and inserted it in the square indent of the stasis pod, causing it to rumble and open with a bright blue light. "Awaken warrior, and serve your master!" He´d be unstoppable once the mech was under his rule and the Decepticons would rise to glory once more!

The long-dormant warrior awoke and took a step outside, banging his closed servos in a display of brute force. He leaned down to the (almost) cowering Starscream with a snarl. His master was the epitome of ruthlessness, cunningness and absolute power, all things the sniveling seeker before him was not. "Skyquake serves only one master."

Not understanding the situation at hand Starscream straightened up smugly. His proud warrior would strike fear into the Autobot´s sparks just like he´d done eons ago. "Excellent. Your loyalty and devotion will set a fine example to the troops. No need to be timid, Skyquake, you may bow."

"You failed to grasp my meaning. I am here on a mission assigned to me by my one master. Megatron."

"Yes. Him." Even in death his predecessor managed to hold him back. The seeker rubbed his thumb and index digits together, debating how to let the warrior know of the hierarchy change. "Sadly, Megatron is… no longer with us."

"Impossible."

"Why is it so difficult for everyone to accept?! Skyquake, I located you, I awakened you, thus I, Lord Starscream, am now your master." He pointed threateningly at the green mech but the taller seeker leaned down and snarled again at him, that time with a promise of a very painful beating. Starscream took a few steps back. Once again his pride had overwhelmed his common sense and he would pay the price. Scrap.

"It has been a while, Skyquake." Optimus cut in, knowingly saving Starscream´s aft from getting a few well-deserved dents.

The cowering seeker let out a sigh of relief but soon enough was roughly shoved aside by the newly-awakened Decepticon who´d forgotten about the self-proclaimed Lord to direct his attention at the Autobot.

"Optimus Prime, I haven´t seen you since the battle of Technahar." Skyquake narrowed his optics. "Megatron ordered me to annihilate you."

"That was a long time ago."

"That may be Prime, but my orders still stand."

Bumblebee and Mayhem watched from behind some rocks as the Prime approached the hostile Decepticon with no hesitation. From the look of things they weren´t on the friendliest of terms and to see the Autobot leader walk right up to the green seeker made their sparks race.

"Is this ancient war still worth fighting? When so many comrades have been lost and worlds destroyed? If you want to be a true leader, Starscream, then stray from Megatron´s path and lead the Decepticons towards peace."

With his confidence returning, the former SIC could not help but to bait the Autobot. "I would be willing to consider a truce… if you would be willing to bow before me, Optimus Prime."

"Again?!" Skyquake was enraged. Starscream was not his Lord! "Bow to this!" He punched the seeker into the rock wall with pure brute force, prompting him to hastily get up and fly away, leaving the two enemies to finish each other off.

"Skyquake, this is a new era on another world. Side with the Autobots and help me end this conflict forever." Pleaded Optimus. He´d already extinguished a spark and did not want a repeat so soon.

"I will never side with a Prime!" The Decepticon lunged at the Autobot with a war cry, wanting to end his mission once and for all. He would return victorious to his one and true master once his enemy´s pitiful existence was erased for good.

* * *

Starscream landed up above besides Soundwave, disappointed at the lack of loyalty he was faced with. He´d offered Skyquake the opportunity to once again serve the Decepticon cause and what had he gotten in return? Dented armor and (not that he´d ever admit it) a wounded pride. To the Pit with them all, he´d do everything himself and get all the praise, all the glory when the war was won for his name. Of course, if Skyquake came out of the battle still online he wouldn´t say no to an extra officer in his ranks.

"What need have I for peace when I have Skyquake? With some discipline he will learn to respect his new master. And once it becomes knowns that Skyquake has destroyed Optimus Prime under my command Decepticons will gratefully bow to me. Do not miss a single moment, Soundwave. We shall need visual documentation of Optimus Prime´s demise. For the historical record."

* * *

Optimus shot Skyquake but couldn´t deal any damage to the Decepticon´s armor who then pulled out a machine gun-looking weapon and shot the Prime with it. The Autobot leader was pushed back by the strength of the bullets but bared though the pain. He remembered when they´d fought in the past and if he showed any weaknesses Skyquake would not hesitate to exploit them and snuff out his spark.

Bumblebee couldn´t hold himself any longer after seeing his commander losing ground and went running to help him. He may have had lost his voice but hadn't lost his courage.

"Bumblebee, no!" Optimus had expected Mayhem to have been the one to jump into the fight but it seemed even the scout had limits when it came to waiting while action was taking place right in front of him.

Bumblebee shot Skyquake from behind while making use of his agility to bounce off the rock walls in order to make targeting him more difficult but when he got too close the Decepticon grabbed him and threw him to the ground easily. The scout suffered some damage but was fast in getting back up on his pedes, knowing if he stood still for long it would spell his doom.

The two Autobots ganged up on Skyquake but were still at disadvantage with the Decepticon´s raw force in play. Strength in numbers was not working so they would have to retreat and make use of the time they´d buy themselves to devise a new course of action.

"Skyquake has not yet acquired a vehicle mode." Whispered Optimus. When the Decepticon charged with his gun he saw their chance to flee. "Fall back!"

The Autobots turned to their alt-modes, and kicked up a cloud of dust, hoping to mask their escape and obscure the Decepticon´s view. Unfortunately that only served to make him angrier and keep on shooting blindly in their direction while in pursuit.

"So, time has made you a coward, Prime?!" Skyquake would not let himself be deterred by cheap tricks, not when he´d fought in Technahar and not now either.

Mayhem watched the seeker go after the two mechs but held her position and kept her distance, hidden away behind the rocks. She wanted to go in badly but knew she had the surprise factor on her side but when looking above to the Decepticons looking bellow on the fight a thought occurred to her. She mentally apologized for, very likely, breaking her Carrier´s spark once more but she needed to know. A question had remained in her processor unanswered far too long: Why?

If Optimus needed her he´d comm for sure because there were some questions that needed a proper answer to.

* * *

Starscream had been thoroughly enjoying the sight of Prime finally being put in his place when the Autobots retreated and he lost them from view. "We´ve lost sight of them. Soundwave, why aren´t you tracking them?" A ping with a location displayed on the silent Decepticon´s visor as an answer. "What? What is it?" More information showed up, that time pointing to the outside the Earth atmosphere. "A second Decepticon life signal? But Skyquake is the only sleeper buried in this area. But if it´s on the site of our destroyed spacebridge… you´re not telling me that life signal belongs… to Megatron." The seeker began stuttering with shock. "But he was microns from the detonation point! Noting could have survived that blast! Your sensors must be faulty. Ignore the contact and delete the coordinates!"

It couldn´t be happening! Not to him! He was so close to achieving his long-held dream of becoming The Decepticon Lord and when it looked like life had finally smiled down upon him after eons of hard work and aft-kissing reality came crashing down and the impossible was possible. He couldn´t allow any obstacles in his path when the end of the line was near.

Just when he was about to hammer down his order to disregard the information both seekers spotted a white and purple jet flying up to them. As far as he knew no active Decepticon sported white armor, especially not one present on the Nemesis´ forces.

"What the…? Who is that? Soundwave?" Starscream turned to the communications officer but got no response beyond a few pictures of a femme wandering around the hallways of their ship. So, whoever was coming had also broken it to rescue the human.

Mayhem transformed to her bipedal mode and landed on the clifftop both Decepticons stood but not far from the edge of the, just in case a quick escape was needed. "So, you must be the guy that took ol´ Megs place. I´ve got to say, you´re kind of underwhelming." She almost wanted to facepalm at her introduction. Leave it to her to get so nervous she´d defaulted into her cockiness to mask the hesitation.

"And you must be one of the new recruits for team Prime." The Decepticon took a look at her symbol. "I must say, I never thought I´d ever see a Maker in person. Why side with them? Why not fight alongside your seeker brethren and put an end to the Autobot tyranny? Your kind did side in the past with us."

"And instate a Decepticon version? No thank you and the past is the past. I´m here because I need you to answer me something." Mayhem took a deep breath before continuing. "What made you follow him?"

Was the femme serious? She´d confronted him just to know about his past? "You want me to believe you´re here merely to ask questions? One look at your frame type and one knows interrogation is not your area."

The heavy-duty seeker shook her helm and chuckled at her stupidity. She wouldn´t be getting any answers from him and had already given him a line to follow if he was smart enough to do so. "Mom was right, Vosians really are arrogant bot fragging sons of Cessna." It was then that she took a better look at Soundwave. "Wait a minute, you´re the guy who Rad talked about!" Mayhem took out her hammer and pointed it at the silent bot. "Get your tentacles near me, I dare you!"

"Soundwave, what is she talking about? Who is this Rad?" The silent officer showed the security camera pictures of Radical from when the sparkling had interfered with the satellites. "A sparkling?! There´s a seekerlet on this miserable wretch of a planet and you did not let me know immediately?!" He turned to Mayhem, his spark racing at hyperdrive speed. "Is he yours? No matter, you will bow to my will and bring me to the-" A location ping interrupted his sentence and the seeker turned to Soundwave seething in outrage "I am in the middle of something!"

Mayhem snorted at the thought of a smaller version of her running around. "I may have done a lot of stupid things but if he was mine mom would wave killed me. Seriously, how old do you think I am? Now I was about to-"

"Mayhem!" Optimus came through the comm. "We require assistance, Skyquake has managed to acquire a vehicle mode. Where are you?"

With a last look at the two Decepticons the seeker took her leave with a sigh. "I´m on my way." She disconnected the call and once again pointed with her hammer to the mech in front of her while slowly walking backwards to the edge of the clifftop. "You even as much as look at Radical and I will personally destroy you. Not joking. Seriously." She jumped off, transforming in her fall and flying away to help her teammates and hope they wouldn´t ask too many questions. She´d went against her Carrier´s request to leave her past alone, had gotten nothing out of it and for sure it wouldn´t be her last moronic action. The older seeker was right, she didn´t know when to curb her impulsiveness and to evaluate the consequences.

"I do not have time for this. If there really is a seekerlet with them I need to-" Another ping from the visor. "Fine! I shall be going in to investigate. If Lord Megatron is up there I shall bring him home. I suppose my matters must take second place to those concerning our master. Remain here and monitor the outcome, when Skyquake snuff Prime´s spark, I must bear witness." Starscream jumped off the clifftop, much like Mayhem, turned to his alt-mode and took off up to inspect the remains of their spacebridge. He hoped the most he would find was faulty equipment and not anything more… relevant.

Soundwave followed Starscream with his gaze. "Must bear witness." He replayed the audio of the order given to him and, not trusting the self-proclaimed Lord to keep his word, deployed Laserbeak to follow the seeker. Technically he wasn´t disobeying but had the feeling the long-time SIC was about to remain just that. Second on the hierarchy once more.


	13. Questions and (some) answers

**AN:** I´m sorry if the fight seems to be lacking or rushed but I couldn´t be much invested in it when it´s with a one-off character with so little development. Also, after this chapter I will be **skipping the episode Scrapheap** because, in all honesty, I have no idea how to make it work.

BTW **Dragonlver22** sent in some questions along with his review and I´d like to make an announcement. **If you have any questions PM or send a review so I can answer here for everyone to see. As long as I don´t give away crucial plot info I´ll do my best to answer all questions posed so far.**

 **To answer** **Dragonlver22: Doomsday is a lot more complex under her superficial persona, if you were to pay close attention to her you´d be able to tell something doesn´t add up. Also, about the ages Silverbot and Mayhem aren´t that far apart, with Silver being the oldest and, in my headcanon, they´re close to Bumblebee´s age with Arcee being older. Solarflare and Megatron are close in age with Doomsday being the eldest, followed by them and close behind Airachnid.**

* * *

"No, no, no, no, no, no! Aww scrap, I lost again."

"I´ll never understand how I keep beating you in fighting games. Rematch?"

"And I´ll never understand why I keep agreeing to play with you. And you´re on."

The triple-changer had given up keeping score at about Radical´s fiftieth victory over him in the world of virtual fights. The smaller bot knew all the moves, all the combos, all… everything about any game he took a fancy to. Doomsday claimed that he first had taken interest in Cyber Poker and Praxus Fold ´Em when she played with Stagefright´s crew but he had no idea what card games had to do with fighting games.

"Ok, I have to ask. Aren´t you two worried about them?" Arcee had expected a bigger reaction from the Makers but up until that point nothing had happened and it was starting to bother her.

Silverbot didn´t take his eyes off the virtual fight. "Who? Mayhem? I told you, she can take care of herself. Unlike me, because he´s wiping the floor with my aft." When ´Player 1 WINS´ appeared on-screen once again the triple-changer hung his helm. "Aww, scrap."

"No! Solarflare, Doomsday and Airachnid. It´s been a week and they haven´t said anything."

"Oh. Well, yeah, but we have to wait for them to dry out. It´s not like they´ll offline or anything like it, just get really tired and maybe a bit cranky."

"He´s right. I´ve seen mom do crazier things than go clean." Radical set his remote down to stand up and stretch out his joints. "Trust us, there´s nothing to worry about. Although I must admit I´d love to have seen what they used to be like back in the day."

"What were they like?" Bulkhead, who´d also been keeping them company, wanted to know more. If he was going to be told Solarflare used to be like Mayhem he´d probably blow a fuse or two.

"A lot more fun."

"You mean more irresponsible." Silverbot narrowed his optics at the sparkling´s response. They both knew the same things but had different views on it. "I remember Doomsday B.R., Before Radical, and she was either sticking someone with something or letting anyone stick it to her."

Radical was taken aback by, what he perceived to be, the attack on his Carrier and did not fall short when retaliating in a normal tone of voice. "As if yours was any better B.V., Before Victory. She only cut back because she was real happy instead of high-grade happy. Also, mom told me he was one the rare ones that didn´t drink besides first generations Makers that joined in so it fits."

Deciding it wouldn´t do them good to have the same argument again, Silverbot gave up but not without a last nonchalant comment. "Well, at least mine didn´t swear like it was going out of style."

"Hey, those are my earliest memories. She only stopped because my first words weren´t exactly conventional." Radical would blush if he could. Sometimes he´d curse and realize it until someone pointed it out. "The damage is done, either way, I know lots of curses going back to I think as far as Buildertongue. Kaonic, Murion, Legion, I know almost all of them." He wasn´t sure whether to be proud or ashamed but shrugged either way. "Now that I think about it my berthtime songs were also very inappropriate. I don´t know why she though it was a good idea to sing a sparkling songs with explicit lyrics."

"That explains what we heard when we rescued you." Bulkhead thought back to the day they´d found him lying near the energon explosion. "Someone so young shouldn´t know half the stuff you do."

"Like I said before, I´m not that young."

"While your conversation seems to have delved into a ´fascinating´ subject, I´d like to know how someone can survive with a high-grade addiction for that long. Their insides should´ve shut down if they consumed it often, even if in small doses." Ratchet had been trying to focus on… something. Even he couldn´t remember what when the conversation started to become more interesting than his work (but he´d never admit to it). There were a few questions he´d like to ask about Airachnid but he couldn´t do so without seeming interested.

"Makers are naturally mores resistant to certain substances but for those who require part replacement there were the Forgers. Unfortunately the Council got scared they´d somehow achieve immortality and eternal youth so they started ´mysteriously´ disappearing. Doomsday is the last among maybe two, three? After we left Cybertron it´s hard to know what happened to everyone else." Silverbot let out a sigh. He missed everyone. "Like I was saying, their bodies got used to high-grade so, like quitting any other addictive substance, you have to stop completely and not go back. If we hadn´t left Cybertron I guarantee you Mayhem and I would be just like them, it´s a vicious cycle and breaking it is tough when dinking is part of your culture. You don´t drink, you don´t live."

The medbot shook his helm in disbelief at the explanation. "I don´t know how both of you or anyone can talk about what you did just now like it´s a normal thing."

Radical shrugged once more and picked up his remote. "It´s what we grew up with. To us, it is normal. Rematch? Anyone?"

* * *

Mayhem arrived on site to witness a green set, no doubt Skyquake, shooting at Bumblebee with clear intent to kill. The poor scout looked like he was close to swerving out of control from dodging all the bullets and there was no Optimus in sight, leading her to fear he might already have been struck down.

"Optimus, where are you?" The seeker commed in a semi-panic.

It was with great relief she heard Optimus answer. "Mayhem, do not worry about me, help Bumblebee in evading Skyquake." He sounded tired, probably injured, but he was still online.

"Sure thing." Mayhem switched comm channels. "Hey, Bee, need a lift?"

The femme shot a missile at the pursuing Skyquake, making the Decepticon have to change direction to avoid getting hit and hen again to avoid hitting the rocky walls of the canyon. The clock was ticking so she had to act fast. The two teammates used that to distraction for the Autobot to accelerate up a hill and jump high the air. Mayhem took that time to place herself right below the scout and he managed to land in his bipedal mode on top of her.

"Hold on, I´m gonna try to get right above him."

Skyquake was heading right for them. It was the perfect opportunity and if they managed to pull off the move she was thinking of they´d have a sure win. Shots were exchanged as the two seekers headed right for each other, none willing to back down. Mayhem accelerated and, just as they were about to make contact, turned upside down to let Bumblebee jump down on top of the Decepticon. Her spark raced as she recovered from the near-crash. One moment too late and the Decepticon wouldn´t be the only one going down that day.

Skyquake attempted to shake off the scout clinging onto his wing and, when that didn´t work, leaned sharply onto the canyon wall and mercilessly dragged the Autobot across it but the yellow bot did not let go. It was time for a more ´aerial´ approach. Flying higher and higher at a near vertical angle he continued his attempts to get the scout to let go and plummet to his, very messy, death.

Optimus watched the fight so to new heights and felt helpless on not being able to help in that situation beyond giving orders. "Mayhem, Agent Fowler will help. Approach the Decepticon and do not let Bumblebee fall down."

"Got it!"

The Maker soared higher, hoping to catch up with the Decepticon before Bumblebee lost his footing. She couldn´t shoot or risk injuring the scout, the poor bot was already out of his element and she couldn´t decide if he was scared or having the time of his life fighting way above the ground where he belonged. Another jet closed in but it was a human one that time. Agent Fowler, of course. Well, that settled where the Con had gotten his new alt-mode.

Bumblebee was not having the time of his life. Skyquake tried again and again to shake him off and he´d almost let go that last time. Regaining his footing on top of the jet he punched the cockpit and ripped off wiring, twice for good measure, immediately sending the Decepticon into a crash dive… Right past a speeding Mayhem. Scrap.

If the damages didn´t offline him the fall would do the trick. For both of them.

"Fowler, can you hear me?" The femme bellowed into the comm. "You´ve got to be the one to catch Bee, I´m too far away to reach him in time."

On the other side the man maintained his cool. He had an Autobot to rescue. "You don´t have to tell me twice." With steady hands, Agent Fowler got his jet beside the malfunctioning Skyquake and looked at the visibly panicked Autobot. "Any time, fella. Ground floor´s coming fast."

Bumblebee let out a few beeps, mustering up courage, and jumped to the safety of the friendly jet while leaving the other one to crash onto the ground with an explosion, offlining the previously dormant Decepticon. There would not be a repetition of what had just happened, the scout could very well guarantee that to anyone.

Optimus watched from a distance as the battle was won. He saw Bumblebee land safely (thank Primus) and Mayhem coming in for a landing. They´d won the battle but another spark had been lost. Even if Skyquake had been on the wrong side a life had ceased, none the less, and it pained him every time he had to relive the tragedies of war. The Prime approached the battered corpse and was joined by his two teammates.

"What a waste." Said Mayhem at the sight of the battered frame of the Decepticon.

"Indeed. Had Skyquake chosen to stray from his master´s path we might not be burying today." He lamented.

"Oh… yeah… that´s what I meant."

Optimus turned to the seeker and put a hand on her shoulder. "Mayhem, I have to say, I had my doubts about you following my orders but you held out until given the go and I will consider you for future missions."

"Eh… thanks." She smiled in embarrassment and rubbed her helm. It would be best if she didn´t tell him anything.

* * *

"How is she?"

"Don´t make too much noise and she´ll be fine."

"Thanks, Silver."

Mayhem quietly entered her Carrier´s berthroom, shutting the door behind her with the softest of noises. It hadn´t been often she´d seen her mother go through withdrawal, at least not all the way.

The heavy-duty seeker knelt down and crossed her arms on top of the berth to rest her head on. "Hiya mom, how are you? Silver told me you woke up a little while ago."

Solarflare gave her daughter a weak smile. "Tired. I´ve never went all the way with withdrawal so it was quite the challenge."

"I can tell." The younger femme reached her servo out to wipe at some dried energon flakes on her Carrier´s faceplate. She wondered how emotional she´d become during that week with no one besides her but it had to be that way. A Maker in withdrawal could go from sad to violent in a nanoklik so it was best to do it alone, even if that made it more difficult to handle. "Listen, today I did something stupid."

The seeker lying on the berth sighed, already expecting something to have happened, but kept a positive outlook on things. With things having clamed down how bad could the mistake have been? "You´ll have to be more specific."

"In a scale from ´I ate all the oil cake´ to ´I blurted out the big secret´ it was about ´I gave someone an idea´. I confronted Starscream, you know, the seeker that´s supposed to be the new Decepticon leader. I think he´s Stagefright´s brother by the way, the frame similarities are crazy."

"You don´t look that bad, was the fight that short or… Stagefright did always describe her brother as a little difficult to deal with."

"Oh, she was right but there was no fight. I said I only wanted to talk."

It was at that point Solarflare went from suspicious to alarmed. "What did you ask?"

"How did you know I-?"

"I raised you, trust me, there´s very little I don´t know about your core personality."

There was a small silence before Mayhem got the courage to admit the truth. "I asked why he joined up with Megatron."

With a tired sigh the bedridden femme weakly put a servo on her daughter´s faceplace "Sweetspark, I told you those matters are better left in the past." She wanted to show a semblance of a smile it was only nature for Mayhem to be curious, but worry wouldn´t let her.

"I know, it´s just…I don´t know. My whole life I´ve known him as either an emerging idealist or ruthless tyrant who let power go to his processor, but I´ve seen old pictures of you two. You look… happy. Like, Victory happy."

"I knew I should've destroyed those." She hadn´t had the courage to do so in all the times she´d tried. "I knew Megatronus a long time ago but he died the day I learned what he was truly like. I´m sorry, but this subject has to die down for good. If anyone where to find out that… you know, things would change irreversibly for the worse. Please, promise me you´ll let it go."

Her Carrier´s optics spoke louder than her words. Compassion, sorrow, hope, despair, all emotions showing in them begged for the matter at hand to perish alongside the mech and Mayhem couldn´t deny the femme who´d given up so much for her that request. "I promise. I still can´t believe he´s gone for good though."

"Me neither, sweetspark. Me neither."

* * *

That blasted Soundwave had ruined everything! All Starscream had ever wanted was to achieve the power he was worthy of but life kept throwing obstacle after obstacle in his path. Nothing had survived the spacebridge incident so how had his ever-bothersome leader managed to hold on for all that time before they´d picked him up?!

When he found him the once glorious Lord Megatron had been reduced to a barely conscious shell held conscious by a sliver of dark energon. Starscream almost wanted to rip his helm out in a fit of rage but then he got a much better idea. If it was the dark energon that did the trick why not kill the bothersome pest once and for all with a swift ´extraction´? The (unfortunately still) SIC ripped the shard from Megatron´s sparkchamber but then, when all seemed to be finally going his way Laserbeak had shown up and forced him to order the transportation of Megatron´s still online battered frame to their ship.

And then here he was, on the sickbay of the Nemesis, watching the still highest ranking Decepticon be held online by a multitude of tubes and machinery along with Soundwave.

"The troops will be pleased about our success in rushing Lord Megatron into stasis. Let us hope our master pulls through." He said with barely veiled contempt.


	14. Party time

**AN:** Alright, new episode! We get to meet an old acquaintance but it looks like more than one bot knows them.

 **To answer OPIv2: Yes, all the Makers know what the deal is with Megatron and Solarflare. Yes, that includes Silverbot, Mayhem and Radical.**

* * *

It was early in the morning when Mayhem was already looking to entertain herself with something beyond video games… because Radical had locked his system with a password when she'd decided to hog it all to herself for almost a week. What could she say, playing as a magical girl that fought her enemies with a magical hammer was really fun.

"Alright! Chores are done, now can we go out for some dune bashing?" The femme had promised Bulkhead to help him sort out some of the storage closets if he'd agree to spend time with her afterwards.

The wrecker felt tired just by being near her. How could a bot have so much energy to spare all the time? "I don't know, Mayhem. Last time I spent a week picking sand out of my articulators. Why do you even want to do it, anyway? I do all the work while you watch and cheer."

"What can I say, I'm a showbot. I come from a long line of bots dedicated to the entertainment of the masses on mom's side, you know?"

An awkward thought went by Bulkhead's processor and he almost chocked on air. "…Yeah." She'd said that just as they were entering the main room with everyone there. None of the Makers paid any attention but Arcee and Bumblebee gave him a funny look.

Ratchet paid no mind the heavy-hitters that had just walked in. He'd been training himself to ignore all noise regarding the inane nonsense the other bots were up to. From victory cries over a game to that long-legged femme that seemed to love to come down from her webs from time to time only to bother him. He went back to pointing at certain lines of text on the screen while Solarflare absorbed his every word. Recently she had requested for him to show her the way around the medbay since she was the only other with any sort of medical training. When he'd asked her where she had went to learn the profession Solarflare merely indicated she did not feel comfortable discussing the subject. Yet another mystery about the femme she refused to reveal.

When a signal display obscured the paragraph the medbot was pointing at he immediately did a double-take. "Optimus, I'm receiving a signal on a restricted band. It appears to be coming from a ship inside this solar system." He pressed a few keys to try and get a better look and was even more surprise at the outcome. "It's an Autobot identification beacon."

All the others came closer to get a look at the supposed Autobot ship that had just made contact with their base. Did it mean that there would be a new element to their team soon enough?

"There's more of you out there?" Asked Silverbot.

Arcee nodded. "The masses scattered to the galaxies after Cybertron finally went dark but Cons have been known to bait traps with false beacons." She'd seen situations like that happen and very few Bots come out of there alive.

Optimus decided they should make the first move and make contact with the unexpected visitor. "Unknown vessel this is Autobot outpost Omega One, identify yourself."

There was some static before the transmission cleared and a familiar voice to two of the bots came through. "I've had warmer welcomes from Decepticon combat brigades."

"Wheeljack?! You old Con crusher, what are you doing all the way out here?" Bulkhead could not believe the voice coming though the speakers belonged to his old friend.

"Bulkhead, that's you? What's with all the security?"

"The rock we're on is crawling with cons. How soon can you get here and even the odds?"

"Sometime tomorrow if I put metal to the pedal."

Mayhem lit up at the thought of another bot joining their team. What did they look like? They'd be able to handle themselves in the field if they were friends with Bulkhead. Maybe she tempt them to go for a joyride with them. "Another bot's coming here, how cool is that?"

"Wheeljack? I know of him by reputation only. Can you verify his voice print?" Optimus turned to the green wrecker. If he was indeed the one riding that ship they'd just gained a powerful ally in their fight against the Decepticons.

"He is one thousand-percent the real deal, Optimus."

The Autobot leader nodded. He trusted his warrior completely, if he said there was no shadow of a doubt then it was true. "We will send landing coordinates, Wheeljack. Safe journey."

"See ya soon, buddy. I'll make sure you get a proper welcome." Bulkhead said his goodbyes before the transmission cut off.

Arcee was the first to ask what everyone else wanted to know. Well, almost everyone. "So, who's the boyfriend?"

"Me and Jackie go way back. We were part of the same war unit, The Wreckers. Which means the Cons are gonna wish he never found us." He couldn't stop reminiscing about their past mission together. They'd kicked a lot of Con afts back during the war, had their afts kicked a few times, but every time they'd always went out with a bang. Literally.

While the Autobot thought about Wheeljack in a friendly manner a certain Maker could not stop thinking about him in a more-than-friendly one. She barely had decent materials for her inventions, got cut off from her near-constant supply of high-grade, Mayhem and Radical barely paid attention to her anymore with their new friends but finally she'd been granted one small mercy.

"Careful, smile a bit more and you might damage your faceplates." Airachnid poked her friend's cheek with a pointed claw.

"I can't help it! I'm just so excited! I can finally have some fun without high-grade!" Doomsday threw her arms in the air and laughed. Oh, _they_ were going to have so much fun indeed. "I can't believe my luck to run into him of all bots here after all this time!"

Bulkhead was confused. He thought he'd be the only one to recognize the mech. "You know Jackie?"

Solarflare groaned. "Please don't." She had a very good idea how the Forger knew the bot in question and that she took pride in her ways.

"Sure do!" Doomsday took her faceplate in her hands, as if she was blushing, and, if it was even possible, her smile got wider. "Before the Wrecker ban he loooved to spend time with us. And by us I mean me. And by spend time I mean-"

"We get it." The Maker leader took her authoritative tone. That femme could go on and on about her 'adventures' before anyone put a stop to her.

"Aww, don't be like that. I'm glad Doomsday's finally getting a friend to play with." Airachnid put an arm around the Forger before leaning in closer. "You are going to share, aren't you?"

"What are friends for?"

Radical let out a cough to get his Carrier's attention. "Mom, while we don't mind hearing about those things, I think you're scaring and grossing _them_ out." He pointed at the Autobots sporting barely contained shocked expressions.

It had been a while since the new additions stopped being new but from time to time the original Cybertronian occupants of the base managed to forget that Maker would always be a Maker, no matter the circumstances.

* * *

Little did the Autobots know they weren't the only ones receiving the transmission from Wheeljack. Inside the Nemesis Starscream was attentively listening in on the transmission, curtesy of Soundwave who'd intercepted the signal.

"A war hero, huh? We haven't much time. Makeshift." At the Decepticon's orders a mech appeared from the shadows. He was the perfect bot for the job, although his loyalty still hadn't proven itself yet due to his history with the previous Lord.

Soundwave accessed the public service record and downloaded all the available information on Wheeljack. Their spy would need to know the one he'd be impersonating enough to fool the Autobots that would be welcoming him into their base. After the download was completed he extended one of his tentacles to feed in information to Makeshift.

The bot covered in shadows started to transform under the gaze of the Decepticon officers. His frame split into various interchangeable panels, exposing incredibly more intricate insides than any other Cybertronian, and before long he resembled the wrecker with no faults to his disguise.

"I too know how to prepare a proper welcome." Starscream marveled at the accuracy of the copy. If everything went according to plan soon enough they wouldn't have to worry about their pesky enemies for much longer. "Listen carefully. I want you to discover the location of the Autobot's base and rely it to us. I also order you to bring me Radical, the sparkling that's supposed to be with them."

"If you want to play house it's all fine by me, Commander Starscream." Makeshift almost wanted to laugh. It seemed for all the mech before him gloated about his excellence and brilliant mind he still seemed to fall for every seeker's weakness: a seekerlet.

Starscream narrowed his optics and pointed a claw at the spy. "Careful. Just because you fought alongside Megatron in the Pits of Kaon does not mean you can be disrespectful to me, Makeshift."

"Got it, Lord Starscream."

* * *

The next day everyone had gotten up early to receive their newest team member. While the older bots had taken their time, barring Doomsday, the younger ones had barely been able to recharge due to all the excitement along with Bulkhead.

When Optimus and Solarflare had reached the main room everyone was already there crowded around the groundbridge. While the Autobot leader was glad his team was eager to receive a new addition Solarflare dreaded to think what she would have to deal with. She´d have to ask Silverbot to take charge while she finished studying her medical texts or else her servos would be too full for her to even function properly.

"Wheeljack's ship is approaching the landing zone." Arcee announced to the excited bots. Mainly Bulkhead and Mayhem.

"You think he's here to visit?" Radical was in his usual perch besides the controls, watching as the blue dot on the screen moved closer in.

"Maybe he'll stay!" Mayhem couldn't reel in her excitement. Maybe they could even have friendly spars if he was up for it. Gasp! Idea! "How's about Silver and I against Bulk and Wheeljack?"

Ratchet was quick to cut that train of thought. "Not in my base, you won't." He already had a hard time with one wrecker damaging his equipment, two and he'd loose what was left of his mind. "Groundbridge cycling up." The bridge began opening but then the control panel malfunctioned, causing to shut down with a series of sparks that even caused Radical to step back. The medbot let out a low curse and punched it back online. "Blasted Earth tech. Equipment hasn't been the same since we opened a bridge twice at the edge of its range."

"I told you to let me look at it. If it's the hardware just give me the parts and I'll even expand the range." Doomsday had offered to help many times but had always been ignored. This was also one of those times. "Fine. Suit yourself, burnout." She huffed.

"If you don't mind me asking, why is he landing halfway across Earth just for you to bridge him here?" Silverbot asked.

"We can't risk revealing the location of our base. Just in case the Decepticons are tacking Wheeljack's ship." Optimus knew the risk of revealing their location. Even without Megatron the Decepticons were still heavily armed and with a well-aimed shot from the Nemesis their hiding spot would fall to rubble.

Bulkhead went past the Prime for the third time in a just a few seconds and the Autobot leader stopped himself to take notice of how restless the wrecker was.

"Bulk, I've never seen you so stoked before." Mayhem put a hand on his shoulder to stop him from wearing down a hole on the floor.

The wrecker stopped to look at the seeker with excitement. "You're gonna love Wheeljack, we were like brothers and tonight we are gonna party!"

"Sweet!"

"Yeah we are!" Doomsday cheered as well. She couldn't wait to see the familiar mech again and have a type of fun she hadn't been able to have in too long.

"No, you're not!" Solarflare cut in on the Forger's plans. "Behave, we're not at work or hanging out with the others. We're in the middle of a war." The femme then pointed at Radical. "And do not forget you already have one, don't make it two by accident."

"Pfft, you'd know ab-" She stopped herself before saying something she´d regret and huffed once again, crossing her arms in resignation. "Fine."

"That goes for you too." The Maker leader looked at the spider-femme lounging in one of her lower hammocks.

"Spoilsport." Airachnid made a none-too-pleased face but would try to comply with her orders. Keyword, would.

The alarm suddenly cut all conversations short. The attentions were diverted towards the screen where six red dots were closing fast on the blue one. Apparently they hadn´t been the only ones to receive word that a new bot would be landing on Earth.

"Bogies, closing fast on Wheeljack's position." Arcee noted and made a motion for Bumblebee to gather with her at the bridge entrance.

"Con scum. Open the bridge, Ratchet, we're missing all the action." The wrecker joined the other two Autobots and felt his spark rush as the familiar green vortex appeared in front of him.

"I'll prepare a sickbay." Maybe he could Solarflare´s skills to the test if the damage wasn´t too bad, the medbot reasoned.

Bulkhead laughed as if their medic had just cracked a joke. "Who for? The Cons? This is Wheeljack we're talking about."

The three Autobots hurried through with their weapons already drawn and ready to shoot any Vehicon that got in their way. Mayhem made a motion to follow them as well before Optimus put a hand on her shoulder to hold her back.

"Aww. Why not?" The heavy-duty femme whined as she watched the bridge close. He´d told her he´d consider her for future missions and it was already the future.

Silverbot bent over to look his sister in the optics with a ´really?´ expression. "Take a look at your back and tell me what you have Autobots don't."

She didn´t understand what her brother meant until the familiar weigh that had accompanied her all her life came to mind. With a dejected sigh Mayhem slumped over. "Oh… right. Big 'shoot me' sign literally stuck on my back."


	15. Work(Spy) hard, party hard

**AN:** Just here to say I will refer to Makeshift as Wheeljack until he´s discovered and that now you can **read about the Makers on my profile**. Happy readings!

* * *

Their bridge led them straight to Wheeljack but there was no Decepticon welcoming committee when their got there, or rather, there was one but already offlined. When they jumped out, their blasters ready to shoot out the sparks of the offending Vehicons, the last enemy was being taken care of by Wheeljack with a swift skewering motion.

"I taught him that." Bulkhead stated proudly to his teammates.

Wheeljack sheathed his swords and started heading over to his supposed rescue team. "Ever think I might need a hand here."

"What, and spoil the show?"

Arcee put a servo on her hip and pointed at a nearby Vehicon. "You missed one."

The wrecker didn't even bothered to stop walking to shoot the Decepticon that was attempting to get up, going right past the now offline bot as if it was just another normal day for him. "If this is all you got, that planet's in bigger trouble than I thought." He said.

Bulkhead did a double take but only for a split-second. "Jackie!" He ran up to his longtime friend and picked him up, hugging him in a vice grip. The other watched with amused smiles as the scene unfolded in front of their optics.

Wheeljack laughed and let himself remain in his friend's grip. "Watch the finish, you old wrecking ball."

* * *

Back at the base all optics focused on the reopened groundbridge and on the now four Autobots that came running through from the other side just in time for the control panel to short-circuit and shut down the green vortex. The bots looked behind them and almost sighed in relief, if they'd been caught inside they may have not been able to come back out the next time the bridge was opened.

Ratchet let out a sigh in resignation. That time a punch would not do the trick and that only meant more work for him. Maybe he should let Doomsday take a look after all, even if just to lessen some of his workload. She was a Maker but also a Forger, a bot gifted with the creation talent of Solus herself, sparked to build and take apart anything she came across.

Bulkhead pulled Wheeljack aside and guided him to Mayhem. "Jackie, come here. Meet my other best buddy, Mayhem. She can wreck with the best of us."

"Hiya." The heavy-duty femme waved in greeting.

The newly-arrived wrecker was surprised to see a seeker and it was then that he realized he'd missed the other bots already at the base. He looked around to see more flyers, among them a sparkling and, out of all things, a triple-changer.

"Did I hit my helm when I landed or something? Hey, docbot, am I seeing straight here?" Wheeljack called to Ratchet who only waved a servo in dismissal at his questions.

"I'm afraid so." The medbot could only hope the wrecker would not fuel to the fire that was the constant noise but gave up as soon as that thought took form. A wrecker that didn't make noise was like a clock that didn't tell time, no such thing existed.

"So, what are ya? Ex-Cons?"

"You make it sound like we're escaped prisoners or something. Did you even look at the symbol?" Mayhem pointed to the black stylized hammer on her armor.

"Well I'll be… Makers. This place just got a whole lot more interesting. So, you keeping Bulkhead out of trouble?"

"I try, but trouble finds us anyway."

"We're gonna get along just fine." He then noticed the Autobot leader approaching him and turned to greet the taller mech. "Optimus Prime. It's a privilege."

"Likewise, soldier. What have you to report from your long journey?" The Prime offered a smile. It had been too long since they'd found fellow Autobots, online ones even for that matter, and had the opportunity to make small-talk.

"Been bouncing from rock o rock, searching for signs of friend or foe. Now, I find both." Wheeljack gestured to Bulkhead and Mayhem.

"We are few, but strong. We have suffered losses, but we have grown. And we would relish welcoming a new member into our fold."

"I would be honored."

"Then let's get this party started." Bulkhead patted Wheeljack on the back, almost making the mech loose his balance from the excessive force wreckers were known to use. The mechs then bumped chassis and laughed, as if it was the old days back on Cybertron.

"Oh, joy." Ratchet knew he may as well give in and ask for help because otherwise no work would be happening on the desperately needing groundbridge. "Doomsday, how's about some help here. Just remember this is a groundbridge, not a weapon."

Doomsday was looking flabbergasted at the wrecker but regained composure at the medbot's words, but didn't even think of retaliating the insult. "Oh, erm… yeah… sure. I'll… erm… I'll be right over." Why hadn't Wheeljack recognized her?

* * *

It hadn't been long before the 'party' had started and lasted through the entire day. When wreckers celebrated they were known to get rowdy soon enough but at Ratchet's insistence (aka threats) they'd kept their fun mostly away from the equipment, both working and broken.

"Come on, Jackie, show me what you got!" A ball of crumpled metal flew through the air and Bulkhead caught it with ease, having only skidded back a few feet. "Nice lob!" He threw the ball at Mayhem but something was off.

"Boo! Throw it like you mean it, not like you're petting it!" Mayhem stuck her glossa out and passed the ball to the white wrecker with enough force to make him fight for balance and turned back to the green bot. "Like this, you big lug!"

"You sure could wreck with the best!" Wheeljack laughed and turned to Silverbot. The triple-changer had settled for siting down and watching the game with an amused expression and declined all invitations to participate. "You sure you don't wanna join in? Someone your size could give a kick to the game."

"No thanks, I'm good." Silverbot shook his helm and put his servos up. He knew the supposed 'kick' would no doubt result in untold damage, if he knew his luck with the game.

The ball was passed around the three heavy-duty bots with more shouts and increasing strength under the watch of amused Makers and Autobots alike. It had been a long time since any of them had watched the game being played, ever since the war had broken out all public recreational activates were canceled and where once transmissions of lobbing games were transmitted there was either static or information about which city had fallen next.

Arcee took her optics from the game once gain to look at Silverbot and finally caved in. "I thought you'd like lobbing." He had the perfect frame type for it. Tall, heavy-duty, so strong he could probably knock his opponent on their aft in the first throw.

The triple-changer raised an optic ridge with an amused smile. "Because of my size?"

"Mainly, yes."

"Yeah…" He suddenly became awkward. "When you're two to three times bigger than the other sparklings no one really wants to go against you. Well, except your crazy sister."

"Heads up!" Mayhem threw the ball at Silverbot, almost as if the universe was trying to prove a point.

"Gah!" Silverbot caught it microns away from his faceplate and almost felt his spark leave his body. "Just like now." He lowered the ball to look at his sister with a frown. "I said no thanks or do you need mom to calibrate your audio receptors?"

"Come on! For me?"

"Humor the ladybot just once." Wheeljack encouraged him. Triple-changers were always rare to come by, most had lived and perished in the battlefields previous to the current war and the ones who'd lived through would meet their fate as gladiators.

Silverbot sighed and looked at Arcee. The two-wheeler smiled and gave him a nod of encouragement. If the three bots could cut loose and enjoy life for at least a little while why couldn't he as well? The tall mech seemed to agree as well and weighed the ball in one hand, throwing it up in the air a few times to get the feel of it (and making a certain someone impatient) before drawing back his arm and throwing the ball with enough force for Mayhem to skid back and hit the wall hard enough to leave a dent. Every one of the Autobots gasped but the Maker only started laughing and held the ball high above her helm, making Ratchet let out a relieved sigh and go back to work. If someone was going to give him a spark-failure that femme was high up on that list.

"Woohoo, yeah! Now that's more like it, big brother! Come on Bulk, it's your turn!"

The three heavy-hitters went back to the game, although two were a little uneasy knowing now what the femme was capable of. Bumblebee beeped with anxiousness at Radical but the sparkling reassured the yellow bot that she was alright and apologized for the panic. It was easy to get scared at that sight but Mayhem was the exception to a lot of rules, mainly the ones concerning having judgement and not possessing fighting skills.

Arcee almost had to pick her metaphorical jaw off the floor at what she'd just witnessed. She'd never seen the mech on the battlefield besides the spacebridge incident but back then she'd been more concerned with the incoming hordes of Vehicons. That coupled with his desire to separate himself from the stereotypical violent nature of triple-changers, seeing him use that much brute force on his sister none the less made a shiver go down her back strut. "Wasn't that supposed to hurt?" She pointed at the seeker who should not be moving without being in some sort of pain.

"Maybe, but with her I doubt it. You should have seen us as sparklings, when we had a disagreement we just fought until one of us won and no, I didn't always win. Solus, was mom angry every time we showed up with dents." He then thought of a way to shift the conversation subject. "Anyway, where's Optimus?"

"Went for a drive. Primes don't party. And Solarflare?"

"Went to her berthroom, she doesn't do parties either. At least not anymore."

"They're missing some great action, I tell you that." From her perch on the walkway above Airachnid watched with barely-contained excitement the newly-arrived wrecker.

"Didn't mom tell you to-"

"Yeah, yeah. The optics can eat too, you know." She waved her servo in dismissal. "And I wouldn't mind taking a bite out of him." The spider-femme then pointed at Ratchet. "Or him. I'm not picky."

Bulkhead threw the ball a bit higher and Wheeljack almost had it before it slipped, hitting the wall further behind and falling down on top of the bridge controls. Doomsday and Ratchet backed away from being crushed by the metal ball that had damaged the same equipment they'd been trying to fix.

Doomsday patted herself to check for 'missing parts' with a horrified look before yelling at the bots involved in the game. "Hey! If you break my mods I don't have enough spare parts to fix them!"

"Forget about your mods, we are trying to perform sensitive calibrations here!" Ratchet chided the Forger and the heavy-hitters. Their groundbridge was more important that whatever changes she'd made to herself. He shuddered to think if he were to examine her what he would find and in the case she ever got seriously injured Solarflare would probably be the only one to work around the extensive modification.

Wheeljack headed over and picked up the ball. "Sorry doc. Guess we're a little charged up. You built this bridge from scratch, huh?"

"I did."

"That's quite a feat of engineering." The mech praised the medbot. It really wasn't every day someone managed to do that.

Ratchet paused for a moment but his pride took over none the less. "Yes, it is."

"Something wrong with it?"

"I didn't care for the way it sounded this last jump. I put it in shutdown."

"What if you need to use it?"

"Oh, I can't disrupt the defrag process without causing irreparable damage."

"So… how long will the defrag take?"

"A few hours, if we're lucky. Maybe longer."

Wheeljack seemed pleased with the answers provided by Ratchet and took the ball back to continue their game. So, they would be unable to use their bridge for the rest of the day, huh?

In the sidelines Doomsday had stayed quiet for the whole exchange and narrowed her optics when the wrecker started asking questions not quite matching the mech she knew. If it had been a weapon of sorts she'd have bought it yet he seemed too interested in the bridge. Something was definitely up with him. She pulled on one of Airachnid's more dissimulated web strings on the nearby wall to get her attention and made a motion for her to come down.

"Ratchet, give me a moment, I'll be right back." The Forger got a noncommittal grunt from the bot and headed over to her friend. "I need you to do me a favor. There's something I want you to do for me and it has to do with Jackie over there."

A grin spread over the spider-femme's faceplates. "I like where this is going. Do tell."

* * *

Starscream and Soundwave walked along the halls of the Nemesis, the new Decepticon Lord seemingly never getting tired of the sound of his own voice, the silent officer noted. They were heading towards one of their prisoner cells to check on the newly-acquired 'guest' staying in there, although rather unwillingly if the fight he put up when they'd picked him up was anything to go by.

"The moment Makeshift passed through that groundbridge we lost his tracking signal. The Autobot base is no doubt heavily shielded to prevent us from locating it." They were already expecting it, after so long with no positive results on doing so in the past. "No matter, I have complete faith in makeshift." They reached the end of the corridor where the doors, heavily guarded by Vehicons, opened to reveal the real Wheeljack suspended in the air by energy cuffs. "Our inside man is already inside."

"Tell Megatron he's fragged in the head if he thinks Bulkhead won't sniff out an impostor." Those were the first words the Autobot uttered when seeing the seekers for the first time after having been captured and replaced by that cheap knock-off.

Starscream growled in annoyance. It was getting to his nerves every time someone mentioned his (nearly) deceased predecessor. "Haven't you heard? I lead the Decepticons now."

"You? Ha!"

The seeker swung his arm and tried to stab the defenseless mech but Soundwave restrained his arm. Starscream took back his arm with a yank and regained some composure. "Yes, he may yet be of use. Makeshift is very good at keeping up appearances. He need only fool your friends long enough to open their groundbridge from within so that I may finally learn the location of the Autobot base. And send in my strike team… to stain the floor with the spilled energon of Optimus Prime."

They walked back into the hallway, leaving Wheeljack alone. He needed a plan to get out of there and fast. The Vehicon left guarding him didn't look too bright. If he could get him to deploy his blaster… with the control panel to the cuffs just there… yes, that could work. He'd be out of that ship in no time.

Meanwhile the seekers walked back to the control bridge and Starscream impatiently asked for news but Soundwave remained silent. Time was running out, the longer their plan took to complete the longer their enemies would have to figure out something was wrong with their 'friend'.

"Makeshift still hasn't opened their groundbridge or otherwise transmitted their coordinates. His disguise may be flawless but he won't fool the Autobots forever."


	16. Light up the party

**AN:** Once again we end up with a super long chapter to end with. I really need to plan out these things better but oh well enjoy! **Questions, suggestions or just commentaries? Leave a REVIEW.**

 **Edit:** I will be rushing a bit **"Convoy"** because I just could not make myself as interested in the episode and tbh writing a chapter where there´s always something happening with no breaks isn´t easy for me, action scenes kill me.

* * *

"So, there we were. No communications, low on energon, surrounded by Cons, so, what does Wheeljack do?" Bulkhead laughed before continuing. "He chucks his only grenade smack into the primary heat exchanger."

"Seemed like a good idea at the time." Wheeljack shrugged.

After a few more rounds of lobbing the three bots finally decided to call it quits and settled for sharing wartime stories, or at least Bulkhead had. Silverbot had remained in the same position while Mayhem joined at his side on top of a crate and plopped Radical into her lap. The three younger bots listened to stories of a war they knew barely nothing about, wanting to know how Cybertron had changed in their absence.

"The joint went supernova." The green Autobot threw his arms up.

Mayhem leaned forward with wide optics and the biggest smile she could muster. "Awesome!"

"Please, don't give her any ideas." Silverbot pleaded. It was bad enough Doomsday liked to build hand-sized explosives when she got a hold of the right materials but if his sister managed to convince Radical to get her one of those they could lose a mountain or two.

"I'm still picking shrapnel out of my backside."

"I'm not surprised, given the size of your backside." Arcee chose that moment to poke some fun at her friend and Bumblebee greed with her with beeps of laughter.

"There it is, Jackie's signature. One grenade, one shot." Bulkhead turned to his friend and noticed something was missing. Wheeljack never missed an opportunity to show off and retell stories of past missions but he was being uncharacteristically quiet. "Hey, you alright?"

"What?" Wheeljack looked like he was coming out of a deep though, as if he´d drifted off into his mind.

"You don't seem like yourself."

"Wat do you mean." He stood up and faced Bulkhead, looking awfully defensive about what he´d been doing.

"I don't know, you seem… quiet." The green wrecker was worried about his friend, he´d never seen him acting so reserved.

"I've been stuck in a can too long. I should go topside before I go stir-crazy."

"I have patrol in the morning, you can come with."

"Let's go now." Wheeljack insisted. He´d wanted go to go outside for some time now but the war stories had filled in the time wasting away at his own.

"And break up the party? Come on, the gang's loving you! You gotta tell them about the battle of Darkmount Pass."

Wheeljack was getting impatient. Couldn´t the mech accept he did not want to tell any stories? "You tell them. You're better at it."

Airachnid, who´d been biding her time, showed up at the wrecker´s side and put her servos on his arm while looking up at him with the sweetest look she could muster. "How's about I show you the rest of the base? You look like you're getting a bit overwhelmed here with all the optics on you?"

"That ok with you?"

Bulkhead paused, caught by surprise. He didn´t want to say no to his friend but there was something not adding up and he needed to find out what. "Well, yes. Sure thing, Jackie, go ahead."

The two bots went deeper into the base, with the spider-femme looking back to wave and wink before attempting to make some sort of small-talk with the mech. She needed his attention for what she was going to do and hoped Doomsday would get the information she needed.

Radical shrugged but got up from the heavy-duty seeker´s lap anyway. He went over to look at his Carrier and Ratchet's work, hoping that maybe the medbot would finally allow him to handle the equipment beyond fixing bugs. He could handle himself just fine, his Carrier was a Forger that had taught him exactly what never to touch when handling all sorts of equipment. Weapons too, but when would he get the chance to handle something of that caliber?

"Aww, things were just getting good." Mayhem pouted and crossed her arms. She´d do a lot of crazy things but getting between Airachnid and a ´meal´ was not something she, or anyone for that matter, was willing to risk their neck for.

Arcee saw Bulkhead watch his friend and Airachnid leave with a sad expression. "You alright?"

"Yeah. Just… outta sorts, I guess." He turned to the two-wheeler. When Wheeljack had contacted them he´d felt like a part of him had come back, a part of his previous days before the war had split him from his original team and thrown them to Primus knows where across the galaxies.

"Don't tell me you're jealous." She crossed her arms and smirked. There was a good guess of what it was, in fact.

"Of what?"

"That Mayhem has another bot to roughhouse with."

"Sainted Solus, I do, don't I?!" Said femme lit up at the words. Maybe there would be at least a one-on-one fight. Just for her to get a feeling of what his fighting skills were, of course, not to like, only for her to have fun and stuff.

"Come on, really? No, something's just not right about Wheeljack."

"Bulkhead, really?" The two-wheeler came closer. "He's traveler galaxies, you haven't seen him for centuries. He could just be rocket-lagged or… well, bots do change, you know?" She´d seen plenty of those in the battlefield, coming back almost unrecognizable from their former selves.

"Not Jackie."

* * *

Airachnid stretched her back as she walked in front of Wheeljack, sashaying her hips every step of the way. When Doomsday had told her the theory she wanted to prove involved seduction the spider-femme accepted with no conditions since she´d get to go back to one of her favorite hobbies but, so far, nothing had happened.

"This is pretty much where we store the flammables. Energon stockpile, power generator, armory. Keep your grenades under lock and key because if one ends up here we'll all be out on the streets. Needless to say Mayhem and Doomsday can only come in here escorted." It was the end of their improvised tour and it was hard not to turn back and ask what his major malfunction was for not showing any sort of reaction.

Wheeljack took a look around and decided on a question. "Where is this bunker located exactly?"

"If I told you I'd have to rip out your sparkchamber." Airachnid gave a manic grin to the taller mech but not even then did he react. She slumped over and sighed. "Really? Not even a flinch? I need to go out more often, I'm losing my edge here. Anyway, somewhere around Jasper, Nevada. Not that it'll mean much to you."

"Can't say it does. So, anyway outside of here besides bridging?" He sounded a little desperate but maybe the femme was merely imagining things from both letdowns.

"Planning on leaving so soon? Good luck, Mayhem will be hounding you for a goodbye fight and you better say yes least she jump on your ship when you go. I think this is pretty much the end, let's head back then."

* * *

"Almost there." Ratchet murmured in deep concentration while pressing a number of keys next to the groundbridge lever.

"This is not a mass-destruction weapon and yet I helped you fix it. I don´t like saying I told you so but-" Doomsday stopped her gloating when Airachnid returned still accompanied by Wheeljack. "But I will not say it today. Excuse me." She left the exasperated medbot alone and went to pull the spider-femme aside to a more isolated corner of the room.

"I hate to tell you but I got nothing. No reaction at all. Are you sure that, you know, with my frame, he´d be…" Airachnid had been unsure if her unusual appearance would be in the way of their plan but Doomsday hadn´t bothered to address that issue.

The Forger snorted and sported a nostalgic smile for a moment before getting serious once more. "You´re not picky and neither was he. You made sure to-"

"Arch my back and display it like I desperately needed shanix to pay for my hypothetical sparkling's surgery, yes."

"Then I am confident that whoever that is, Wheeljack is not their designation."

Both looked with squinted optics at the white wrecker, their processors running a thousand scenarios. Who could impersonate a bot almost to perfection down to their mannerisms and know about their past? Had he messed with the wrong bot? Could it be merely processor damage after one too many fights and she was just reading too much into it?

"That's not Wheeljack?"

"What the-!"

"Hi." Radical waved from his lower point of view at his Carrier´s pedes. "So, who is he?"

While the two femmes exchanged looks of doubt on how Radical had managed to overhear them and about who could their guest really be someone else was attempting to unravel the second point.

Bulkhead was getting on edge about his ´friend´. There may have been times when Wheeljack had been more serious and not so much as the risk-taking mech he was known to be but nothing could compare to what was happening. It was as if he was a different bot all together… Wait. A different bot? Could it be that Wheeljack was not himself as in someone else impersonating him? There was a way to prove it and Bulkhead prayed to Primus he wasn't right.

"Hey, Jackie, I was just telling the guys about you and me. At the battle of Darkmount pass." He called ´Wheeljack´ over to their group.

"That's a heck of a story." The white mech smiled and nodded. Were they still going on about past battles?

"Yup. Tell it." Now was the time to see if his theory lined up.

"I'm not sure I-"

"Tell it." Bulkhead cut off Wheeljack and pressed on. His friend wouldn´t pass up an opportunity to tell one of their greatest battle stories, not if he was who he claimed to be.

The smaller group of two femmes and sparkling began paying closer attention to the white wrecker´s reactions. They saw what looked like panic flash for a brief moment in his optics before it was replaced once again with cool calm. The femmes had dealt with enough mechs hiding secrets back in the Maker district to know when something was up and there were alarms going off in their processors at the sight of the bot´s micro-reaction.

"Look, he's caught on to something too." Airachnid pointed out to what was happening not far from them.

"I wonder who he is." Radical whispered. He remembered his Carrier telling him berthtime stories about a particular type of Cybertronians, a type that could change their frames to match someone else´s.

"Let's see how this ends for him." Doomsday crossed her arms and craned her neck upwards to get a better look of the events.

The tension was rising. Bulkhead hadn´t let anyone else get a word in while waiting for his supposed best friend to tell the story he should show like the back of his servo and the green wrecker would keep insisting until he was either proven right or wrong. He hoped he was wrong.

"Fine, you wanna live in the past, Bulkhead? The wreckers were caught between a Decepticon patrol and a smelting pit. The Cons were vicious, bearing down on us with everything they had. Me and Bulkhead engaged the enemy, left them for scrap. Then I made us a way out using their backsides as stepping stones to cross the molten metal. Isn't that how it happened?" W

"Yeah, that's exactly how it happened. Except for one little thing." At Bulkhead´s words the smirk sported by Wheeljack dropped and his optics widened in surprise.

Radical came closer to the scene and it was his turn to smirk. "Busted."

"I wasn't there." Everyone stared at what was happening, even Ratchet let go of his work to pay attention to the scene. "I'd already left the wrecker to join up with Optimus. But you wouldn't know that if all you did was access Wheeljack's public service record."

Makeshift panicked. He´d never been discovered before and was heavily outnumbered, either he came up with a plan fast or would end up as no more than a stain on the floor where he stood. With a quick dash he made a grab for the sparkling, trapping him against his chest, dodging the bots attempting to catch him and ran for the groundbridge. He made sure to keep the sparkling's arms bound for the ordeal, not wanting him to pull the same trick he'd pulled on Soundwave. The spy didn't care if Starscream wanted to play house with the little runt but the Autobots didn't know he needed him alive.

"Radical!" Doomsday pulled her whip and cracked it against the floor, leaving a wide gash where it had struck.

"Stay back, or I'll squeeze him into pulp." Makeshift threatened, adding a bit more strength into his grip, making the sparkling yelp.

Ratchet attempted to make a surprise grab for the bot they´d assumed to be Wheeljack but was quickly deterred by one look. He´d seen it plenty of times in the battlefield during hostage situations, the captor willing to do anything to avoid an enemy attack by holding the hostage´s life on the line. If they moved Radical would suffer the consequences and it didn´t take much to break a sparkling´s frame.

The green wrecker wanted nothing more than to deploy his wrecking ball and beat the scrap out of the bot that had impersonated one of his best friends but with Radical´s life on the line there wasn´t much he could do. "Decepticon coward. Let the sparkling go and face me."

"Don't fret, plenty of fighting to come." Makeshift reversed to his real voice with a demented smile.

"He's a Shifter!" Yelled Radical before getting another warning squeeze and wincing at the pain.

"A what?" Bulkhead had no idea what he was talking about.

"Legendary breed of Cybertronian." Airachnid´s extra arms were twitching, aching for the first opportunity to strike the opponent down and rip out his sparkchamber. "Forgers came from Solus, Shifters came from Amalgamous, the Prime that gave Cybertronians the ability to transform."

Silverbot straightened up, attempting to make himself as imposing as possible. Even if he couldn't attack he could intimidate. "Is there even a real Wheeljack?" He asked with a cold glare.

"Oh, indeed, and I expect Lord Starscream is making sport of him." Makeshift heard the bridge beep and noticed it was operational. If it hadn't been for the Forger´s help he´d have been at an impasse for a lot longer. "About time!" He inserted the coordinates to the Nemesis and opened a portal, backing into it slowly, making sure everyone could still see the threat he presented to the sparkling that kept trying to free himself, struggling at every moment. "Will you keep still?!"

"Let him go, you half-clocked Con!" Doomsday had her whip firmly clenched in her servo. "You're not going anywhere with my son."

When it looked like everything seemed lost a light of hope came through, or rather, the real Wheeljack jumped in from the other side of the portal. The wrecker banged the hilt of his sword against the impostor's helm, making him fall down and release Radical. The Decepticon was thrown against a wall hard enough to make him falter and unable to get up for a few seconds, if he hadn´t been used to the gladiator fights for the old days he´d have went into stasis.

Doomsday´s optics widened as Radical practically flew through the air and lassoed the sparkling out of pure instinct with light speed and hugged him to her chassis, her hold on him almost like the one the Decepticon had on him previously. She felt the energon tears flow to her optics before shaking her helm to repress the urge to cry. Emotions were for later, maybe when the bootleg that had hurt her son was offlined. "Solus be praised, you're alright!"

"Not if you squeeze out my insides." Radical´s words came out muffled and she lessened her hold to allow him to look up at her. "Thanks, I thought I was a goner."

The bot that had just come through the bridge sheathed his words and looked at Bulkhead. "I'd shut that hole before the stink comes through." They did not want to deal with the horde of Decepticons hat was on the other side coming through and revealing their base´s location.

Ratchet snapped out of his thoughts and offlined the bridge. He sighed in relief. He wondered what would have happened if their equipment hadn't malfunctioned or if he hadn't asked Doomsday for help in fixing it.

"Now, let's take care of business." The real wrecker motioned to the Shifter that had managed to get himself back on his pedes and drawn his blades. Wheeljack drew his as well once again as well, motioning for the others to form a circle around them and keep out their path. The identical bots circled each other, daring the other to make the first move, and when Bulkhead attempted to get in on the action Wheeljack stopped him. "Ugly's mine."

They launched themselves at each other at the same time and a clash of swords took place, filling the air with the sounds of sharp metal attempting to cut into the other. They were evenly matched, one a wrecker the other an ex-gladiator, fighting for their lives in what could be the last fight of one of them.

"Which one's the real Wheeljack?" Radical yelled at Mayhem from his mother´s arms, trying to make himself heard though the clashing metal noises.

The femme pointed at no certain mech with a panicked grimace before throwing her servos up. "I don't know, I lost track!"

Unfortunately for the impostor it had been too long since he´d seen a proper battlefield, too used to make his way in and out swiftly though enemy ranks without confrontation, and he lost both swords. Afterwards it was only a matter of receiving a rather painful kick to the chest enough to daze him and knock him to the ground to be defeated and rendered defenseless by the Autobot.

Bulkhead smiled to the rest of the team. "That's my Jackie."

Wheeljack poked his enemy's neck cables with his swords for good measure before sheathing them. He had a better idea to do with the coward who´d tried to fool his friend, there was a supposed Decepticon Lord who needed repayment for his hospitality. "You, hit the switch." He said to Ratchet and then turned to Bulkhead. "And now it's time to take out the trash. All yours, buddy."

"Aww, I wanted to offline him." Complained Airachnid. Anyone who dared to try and hurt a bot belonging to her last ties to the Makers deserved nothing but the worst.

Bulkhead picked up Makeshift and walked towards the bridge, lifting the Shifter above his helm with a proud display of strength. They´d return the scum to where he came from along with a little gift, wrecker style.

Solarflare came from the hallway, clearly not amused having been interrupted by the amount of noise while going over some of Ratchet's medical documents she'd borrowed. "What in Solus' grace is going-" She saw the scene and could not make heads or tails of what was happening. "On."

Makeshift looked at the seeker from his standpoint and remembered where he´d seen her before. It was no wonder Megatron had been eager to get things up and running with the spacebridge.

* * *

A green vortex opened once again on the Nemesis' airstrip and all the Vehicons took a step back in fear. The wrecker had escaped and, right when they were preparing to storm the Autobots' base, he'd shown up and beat the scrap out of everyone, including the self-proclaimed Lord.

Starscream shook in anger and looked at his troops- "What are you waiting for?! GO!" The seeker bellowed, energon still leaking from his faceplates. He´d show them who was best, who was the real winner in their war. The wall of the Autobot´s base would be painted with their insides and he would laugh in glee atop of their lifeless frames.

The Vehicons troops hurried in only to come back running to the ship when their spy was tossed through, barreling into many, few managing to evade him, but, in the end, Makeshift landed right on top of a very surprised Starscream, the bridge closing immediately after. They had failed once again.

Starscream pushed the offending spy away and got up, trying his best. "Please, tell me that you at least learned the location of their base." Annoyed did not even begin to cover how he felt. Again and again he tried to one-up his enemies only for the house of cards to come tumbling down, always on top of him.

"Indeed, Lord Starscream. But that's not all, I saw her. Megatron-"

"Whoa! Back, back!" Starscream had heard a beeping noise, like a countdown to something, and when his gaze had landed on the grenade stuck to Makeshift´s side he did what he did best. The seeker ran away, pushing Vehicons out of his path, and took flight.

Makeshift could only look down and away his doom. "Oh no…"

A blue explosion lit up the dark skies.

* * *

The next day everything had went back to normal. Well, almost everything. Ratchet and Doomsday had spent the night up fixing Wheeljack´s ship, the medbot not willing to pick a fight with the Forger so soon after she´d almost seen her sparkling and in Decepticon claws. Everyone else had stayed up pretty late before retiring for some recharge, listening to wartime stories from the real Wheeljack who was more than glad to share them.

Mayhem and Radical were playing on the home-made console and she, having won after six virtual battles in a row, was cheering with her arms raised up high and jumping up and down. Arcee, Silverbot and Bumblebee were cheering her on, rising their servos for a round of high-fives with the victorious seeker.

"I still can't believe you found Makers on this planet." Wheeljack took in the moment shared by the bots of both factions with a smile. It had been a long time since he´d seen something like that happen but it gave him a little hope for the future.

Ratchet lifted his optics from the equipment he was fixing and promptly went back to his task. "It's like a recurring nightmare." Oh, how he missed those quiet mornings, working in the machinery in peace, maybe having a cube of energon.

The white wrecker turned to Doomsday and smirked. "And I still can't believe you had one of those." He pointed at the sparkling being lifted up in a hug by an ecstatic Mayhem.

Doomsday merely shrugged. "What can I say? It was love at first sight." She then leaned in against him, just like she used to do when she caught him wandering the Maker district, and winked. "So, what do you say? I'll throw in a freebie for old time's sake."

Airachnid draped herself against his other side. "Room for one more?"

Solarflare sighed. It was as if she was the only responsible fully grown adult among her team. She grabbed Doomsday by her dreadlocks and Airachnid by one of her 'horns' to pry them off the wrecker that showed signs of accepting the proposition and drag them away further into the base. "Time-out, ladies! This is war, not an orgy."

"Ignoring that last bit, now that you're part of team Prime, we need to pick out a vehicle mode for you." Bulkhead nudged Wheeljack. "I have some ideas."

"Erm… about that, Bulk." It was going to be awkward but he couldn´t be tied to a place for long, it just wasn´t in his nature. "Now that my ship's repaired I'm itching to know what else I might find out there."

"Wait, you're leaving? Why?" Mayhem had overhead the wrecker and had come running in, still holding onto Radical. "What about all the fighting we could do together?"

That had drawn the attention of the other bots as well. They all came closer and looked with sad optics at Wheeljack, disappointed to see him go so soon after less than a day with him.

"Because some bots never change." Bulkhead smiled. It would be hard saying goodbye to his friend once again but he knew he´d come back. True friends always stuck by each other, no matter what.

Optimus sported a sad smile. "Wheeljack, know that you'll always have a haven here." They were so few and when he´d appeared it gave them a glimmer of hope, just like when they´d found the Makers. Cybertronians were resilient by nature, there were bound to be more of them out there amongst the stars and, if Primus allowed it, they´d help them fight for Cybertron and Earth as well.

The green wrecked patted his friend on the back with a sad smile as well. "Jackie never stays, but he always comes back." He lifted up a servo and they fist bumped. Wreckers for life.

"There's room for two on my ship, even with a backside like yours. Who knows who we might find out there? Some of the old crew?"

Bulkhead looked around to all the bots, some of whom he´d fought alongside with on many battles, other whom he´d only know for a short while. Mayhem was looking away, downcast, but didn´t wasn't to say anything. It was his call if he wanted to leave, she didn´t want to influence hos decision by asking him to stay. He knew what he had to do. "Sounds like fun, Jackie, but my ties are here now. With them. With her."

Mayhem laughed and launched herself at Bulkhead in a hug. "I knew I was your friend!"

Wheeljack smiled. It wasn´t often you got true friends like those. "If anything happens to my favorite wrecker I'm coming after you."

The seeker stuck out her glossa and nodded at Silverbot. "Have you seen the size of my brother? I could total kick your aft. But don't worry, I'll take good care of him. Now…" She let go of the green wrecker and took a few steps back with her holopad already out. "You two, smile for the camera, I wanna save this moment."

They smiled. They would meet again. Soon.

* * *

 **Extra:**

"Doomsday, you got a grease stain on you. Right there on your… ahem."

"Look closer."

"Is that writing? ´Wheeljack was here´. Wait, what? You were up all night with Ratchet fixing the ship. How did you…"

"A Maker never reveals her secrets."

"SOLUS DAMMIT, DOOMSDAY!"

 **AN:** How did you like this last tidbit? I though it up but couldn´t work it in so I figured you should see something of what I cut out. Who was asking and who screamed? Use your imagination ;)

* * *

 **"This is war, not an orgy."** Taken from **Swinging Seekers** by **Spoon888** on AO3


	17. All aboard

**AN:** Well, it may not be such a short chapter after all but there will be at least two for the episode. Yay me! BTW expect **a rather big twist** the next chapter, I dunno how you´ll react so fingers crossed!

* * *

"Prime? PRIME!"

Their day had started with their human liaison screaming from the speaker on the control panel. No surprises there as far as the angry bellowing went, the man tended to do that a lot, mainly when destruction of giant robot fighting proportions happened, but none of them had caused any incidents worthy of yelling recently.

Optimus approached the console, prepared to deal with a multitude of situations and even an audio-full of reprimands. "Special Agent Fowler, to what do we owe-"

"What else? Cons." Fowler interrupted the Prime, not wanting to bother with pleasantries and waste whatever precious time he had left. "I chased them off with some hard ordinance but not before they blew me out of the sky. They tried to smash and grab for the Dingus."

"The what´s it?" Arcee asked, clearly unsure if she had heard correctly.

"Dynamic Nuclear Generation System aka Dingus. A very volatile prototype energy source being developed in the highest of secrecy." Radical didn´t even look up from the holopad Mayhem had lent him, using it a sort of laptop after connecting it to the internet.

The government agent narrowed his eyes and resisted the urge to raise his voice. He did not like yelling at kids, even if they were alien robots. "And you know that how?"

"I may or may not have hacked into a few government databases to kill time."

"That is your definition of killing time?! Stealing confidential USA property is a crime, young man- erm… bot."

"Oh, come on, Agent Fowler, he didn´t hurt anyone. He was just having some fun." Doomsday went up to the console and smiled at the man. "What´s the harm in it?"

"Fun is playing a game, what he did was high treason!" He was more than ready to pop a blood vessel.

"Meh, details." The Forger shrugged with a smirk and he almost did so.

"Moving on, why would Starscream bother with such primitive technology?" Ratchet intervened before the agent had an aneurism. Doomsday was not what one would call ´parenting material´ of the highest grade, more of high-grade than anything, and it drove him near barking mad to see her let Radical do whatever he pleased as if he were the age of the other two young Makers.

"Well, perhaps our little hacker would like to explain, since he knows so much about a supposedly classified project." Fowler looked at the not at all guilty-looking sparkling.

With a sigh Radical turned off the holopad and set it down. "It´s an energy source but it could double as a very effective explosive. Like, for example, if I were to meltdown it would irradiate whichever state Agent Fowler is in and others in a four-state radius."

"Merely out of curiosity, may I ask which state you are in?" Airachnid leaned forward, making Ratchet unconsciously step aside. With a quick look she did not bother to banter with the skittish medic, the likelihood of being caught in an explosion taking first place over her love of badgering the mech.

"I´m a sitting duck here, Prime, I need you to spin up your bridge and send up the Dingus to its destination before the Cons come back for it."

"Good luck with that." Doomsday cut in once again. "If something happens and there is a meltdown you could say goodbye to the USA, as in not just a couple of states but all fifty. Trust me, if anyone knows explosives it´s me."

"I knew it!" Ratchet pointed an accusatory digit at the femme. Widely used misconception his aft.

Forgers may have come from Solus, one of the thirteen Primes, but they had also inherited the desire to create weapons with sizeable destructive abilities. For all the armor one could make it did not protect against a weapon made with the right materials by the servos of a Forger, they did not need to learn or study to build what their sparks desired as they were created with innate knowledge worthy of Solus herself.

"Oh, weld your intake hole shut, will you?" Another digit was pointed back at him along with an annoyed look.

"So… anyone has a better idea? I can´t sit here forever, you know?" If the Decepticons didn't finish him off his superior would for taking too long to deliver the cargo.

Optimus raised a servo to placate the increasingly aggravated human. "Do not fret, Agent Fowler, we shall do the transporting ourselves. I shall haul the device while my team acts as an escort."

"And what makes you think the Dingus won´t meltdown when you go through a literal bump in the road?"

"Because there is one of us that instinctively knows her way around any type of equipment and machinery." The Prime gestured to the Forger. "Doomsday, you will be riding with it in case something happens."

"Say what again?" Her audio receptors must have been malfunctioning because that was not something she´d ever expect from him.

"We require your abilities to-"

"I heard you the first time, but are you aware you´re pretty much offering me time alone with a highly volatile piece of equipment?"

"Whoa, I had no idea you felt that way, Optimus." Mayhem snickered and could not contain her laughter.

Optimus felt out of his element when dealing with the Makers on certain occasions and was aware that sometimes language did not translate as intended. "I am afraid I do not understand what you are talking about."

"To keep it short you´ve just unintentionally propositioned Doomsday, offer a Forger something they´ve never seen, dangerous alien technology is on top of that list, and that´s how it´s interpreted." Solarflare wondered why they hadn´t yet went over the dos and don´ts between the two factions and figured mainly because no one wanted to address such awkward topics. "We really need to work through some cultural differences here."

"Could you please wrap up this sitcom cliché and send me help?" He did not want to think about how giant alien robots went about doing things that should only be done behind closed doors. "Today would be ideal."

"Woops, sorry." Doomsday turned to Optimus and gave him an apologetic smile. "It´s alright, I understood what you meant, it was just really unexpected hearing something like that after a long time. I´ll go and keep it safely contained, you can count on me."

"Very well." He then looked at the spider-femme waiting to be dismissed along with other Makers. "Airachnid, we may also need your help."

"Say what again?"

* * *

"Move it, gramps!"

The sudden honking almost made the two femmes riding inside the trailer jump to their pedes in alarm. They couldn't see the outside so any loud noises made their sparks almost jump out of their casings.

"Hey, Optimus, what´s with all the noise?!" Doomsday bellowed into her comm link. "You want Flare to have to calibrate my audio receptors when we get back or something? Maybe add a little spark failure to the mix?"

"I apologize, Doomsday." Optimus hadn´t been able to legally pass the vehicle in front of them so the man behind the wheel had taken on his hands to honk until the poor human had went off-road and allowed them to accelerate. "Agent Fowler, was that really necessary?"

"Aww, don´t tell me you´re one of those textbook drivers?" He crossed his arms in a huff. Prime could fight like there was no tomorrow but did not like honking, go figure.

Back inside the trailer the Forger signed in relief and go back to her previous actions, mainly peeking through the metal crate´s grating to try and discern what the Dingus looked like. She hoped it would prove to be better than the awful name, wondering what poor sap had though it up.

Doomsday pressed her faceplates closer to the container, if that was possible, and reached into her subspace to bring out a small lantern to illuminate the inside of the crate. "I wonder what the wiring is like. Damn, it´s took dark to take a proper look."

"How can you be so calm?" Arcee had been on edge ever since she stepped inside the trailer and sat down a reasonable distance away from the potentially dangerous device that squeaked and swayed with the movement, even if it was held down securely.

"What do you mean?"

"We´re transporting what could be classified as a mass-destruction device while looking out for Cons. If something goes wrong lives will be lost and we´re at ground zero if that goes down."

"Meh, I dunno." The femme gave up and opted to just lean against the crate. "To be honest I´ve done crazier things. I mean, I built the armor for M- hey, do I hear a helicopter?" She´d halted herself before saying anything Solarflare would not have liked. Opening up her comm to Optimus once again she posed her question. "I didn´t know Airachnid was gonna come in now."

"She is not. Our assailants are not Decepticons, they are human."

When he hadn´t recognized the green helicopter or cars that had initiated pursuit, Optimus had a bad feeling in his spark about the enemy they were about to face. Humans and Cybertronians weren´t that different, be it in emotions, familial ties and, unfortunately, warfare. Infighting was commonplace in the relatively young planet´s history and when a masked and armored human pointed a weapon at Agent Fowler from one of the car that had drawn up to his cab that his suspicions were confirmed.

Optimus had to swerve to the side and bump the car hard enough for it to lose enough control and miss the shot, aiming at the ground instead and producing a sizeable blast. Doomsday and Arcee were thrown around in the confined space and while the two-wheeler opted for kneeling down the Forger instantly grabbed onto the crate.

"It´s gonna be a really bumpy ride." Doomsday held herself closer to the potentially dangerous device. They couldn´t steal it before she had the chance to even look at it.

"Autobots, maintain your cover and apply minimal force, disarmament only." Optimus commed everyone with the orders. They had promised not to endanger human lives while staying on Earth, breaking that oath could have serious consequences, even if it was in self-defense.

"Oh, you´ve got to be- if they´re willing to kill they´re willing to die! Just because they´re human doesn´t mean those guys are the epitome of precious lives!"

"Doomsday! You heard Optimus, maintain cover and use minimal force." Arcee chastised the Forger and got only an undignified huff in response.

Outside Bumblebee managed to knock one of the cars to sending it out of control, causing it to bump into a patch of rocks and flip over, both humans inside unharmed but unable to continue their pursuit.

Another car drove up alongside Optimus on the other side and one of the masked soldiers maned to climb onto Optimus and begin attempting to sever the trailer with a laser on his oversized gun.

Fowler noticed the attempt at gaining the upper hand and had an idea. "Prime, veer right!"

The Autobot leader knocked onto the car driving alongside him and managed to push it off the mountainside road and over the short cliff, leaving it also flipped over and the driver unharmed. The soldier attempting to sever the trailer, however, was able to hold on, despite having lost balance at the sudden impact.

The government agent had reached his limit when concerning their assailants and decided to take matters into his own hands. He climbed out of the moving truck to the back and grabbed the man, pulling him back and dangling him over the edge, making the masked soldier lose his gun in the process.

"You´re gonna tell me everything I wanna-" A tree branch smacked the guy from Fowler´s grip before he could properly start the interrogation. He felt like using very colorful language but opted to only climb back inside to safety.

It wasn´t even a second past after he´d put on his seatbelt when his walkie-talkie came to life, the voice of a man coming though the communication device. "I do hope you take better care of the Dingus than you do your captives."

"Special Agent William Fowler here, identify yourself!"

"I am Silas. But of greater consequences to you, we are MECH. Fair warning, we will be help ourselves to your device, even if it means inflicting casualties." That voice could only belong to one of the men in the helicopter, Fowler was sure of it.

"Is that so? Tell me, Si, what´s the market price for a Dingus these days?"

"What makes you think we intent to sell it, Agent Fowler? There´s a war brewing, between the new world order and the newest. The victor will be the side armed with the most innovative technology." And they would guaranteed to be that side with the latest piece of equipment they were about to acquire.

One of the cars approached Optimus from behind and shot three metal darts at the trailer´s back door and, with the push of a button, blew the latches off and the door began to open.

"Doomsday, hide!" Arcee turned into her alt-mode and displayed a holoform on the driver´s place, ready to take off.

The Forger hid behind the crate, glad she didn´t have wings or a bulkier frame. "Good luck!"

With a rev of her engine the two wheeler accelerated and jumped out, landing on top of the car where the shooter was preparing to jump onto the trailer, making it loose control and flip, then crash into another car and causing both to explode. Scrap, she would be getting an audio-full from Optimus when it was all over. It wasn´t her fault they thought it was a good idea to pack explosives.

Silas was not amused. Those were definitely civilian drivers as previously though and good soldiers did not come cheap.

"Later, Si!" Fowler said his final goodbye to the man and cut off the call. They had no idea who they were messing with, who´d be a better driver than beings that had been literally born for the road?

"Agent Fowler, do not take your Silas lightly, Megatron preached the same ideology before plunging Cybertron into the great war that destroyed our world."

Optimus remembered their planet back its pre-war state, brimming with life and home to many innocents. He was just a mere naïve data clerk when he was persuaded by the words of Megatronus, a gladiator who´d begun as a lowly miner, to believe in a Cybertron free of greed and corruption. They bonded over their desire to see their planet flourish under a rightful government but along the way the words he´d once heard began sounding… wrong. It was there, before the Council, that it all came together and Optimus severed his ties to Megatron, their friendship forever lost to the horrors of the war closing in.

"Optimus, prepare to initiate phase two." Ratchet´s voice through the comm brought the Autobot leader out of his thoughts. "Just up ahead you will reach the rendezvous point."

"No doubt, here´s our destination point." Fowler pointed out at the sight of the rail tunnel under the mountain.

"Autobots, keep a tight formation." It was time to put phase two into action and Optimus hoped Doomsday would do just as he´d instructed.

They accelerated and ducked to go through the train passage, ignoring the one meant for the passing vehicles, entering alongside the incoming train. The cars pursing them did not give and steered away from the road as well, planning on chasing the Autobots through the tunnel as well.

Bulkhead, making sure he was too far into the tunnel not to be seen, transformed into his bipedal mode and shot the tunnel entrance, causing it to collapse and sealing off their enemies on the other side. He turned into his alt-mode once again and went off to join the rest, knowing he´d be needed.

Bumblebee timed himself and jumped on top of the train in bipedal mode, banging carefully on the door, and a soldier opened to see a giant yellow robot give him a cheerful wave.

The trailer opened all sides and Arcee picked up their cargo, passing it to Bulkhead after he also jumped onto the train and and he, in turn, passed it to the scout, who put the crate safely inside.

Doomsday let out a nervous laugh. She wouldn´t have backup in case something went wrong after that. "I guess this is my stop. Bulkhead, catch me?"

"Hop on." The wrecker extended an arm.

With a decided beat the Forger jumped, got picked up by the wrecker and sat down on the carriage entrance "You may want to move to another carriage, sweetspark, I take up a little bit of room." She winked at the human who proceeded to blush and do as he was told. Mech, she figured, were not so different between species. They all fell at her pedes.

"Be safe, Doomsday." Optimus issued his last words with the femme for the time being.

"I think you´re the ones that should be careful. Good luck!" She gave them a thumbs up before climbing inside and closing the door. It was time for phase two point five.

Reaching into her subspace she brought out her portable tool kit, glad the carriages were larger ones at her request. If they wanted to survive what she predicted to be a BIG bump on the road that piece of primitive equipment needed some modifications, Forger style ones. It was a suicidal idea for an average bot, but she wasn´t average. Doomsday was the last Forger in existence and would lead her life making use of her skills to help the Makers regain the status given to them by Solus or get offlined protecting them. She prayed it wasn´t option two, losing her spark did not suit her at all.

* * *

 **AN:** We´ve reached 50k under a month, how awesome is that?! Remember **read and review** if you want to try for 100k and more!


	18. End of the line

**AN:** So, no Megatron related stuff in here either but there's no lack of me trying to give you something different.

* * *

They headed off in a different direction from the train, drawing their enemies along. Optimus fought the thoughts of doubt about leaving a Forger alone with a highly volatile piece of human technology but held firm. He had to trust the Makers if they were to trust him as a leader.

While the cars chasing them had given up pursuit Silas had not, keeping them in his line of sight from the helicopter when they had come out of the tunnel. Definitely not civilian drivers and with a sizeable amount of firepower to collapse the train entrance he wondered why had they not taken their shot at them. If they really belonged to the military they would have permission to use deadly force in order to protect the device and beyond the motorcycle likely having killed his soldiers none of the others had made any casualties.

Not long after the Autobots separated from the train six purple jets appeared, startling both them and Silas.

"Air support? Ours or theirs?" Fowler wondered as he stared out the window. "Don´t tell me it´s neither. Those sneaky Cons trying to get in on it too?"

The Vehicons took their opportunity and opened fire on the convoy, four missiles capable of blowing them apart deployed straight at the Autobots. They turned sharply to avoid the incoming enemy fire but the trailer shook loose, already having been damaged earlier, and was left behind to get hit, exploding with no chance of remaining intact.

Silas and the piloting soldier held their breaths, bracing for an impact force they could not run from but when nothing beyond what the missiles caused took place their hearts calmed down. The device they were after was capable of untold destruction if caught in an explosion of any kind, so why were they still up in the air and not blown apart?

"Sir, I´m not reading any radiation. The Dingus didn´t meltdown." The pilot sounded both relieved and confused at his own words.

"No, it did not." The leader of MECH became suspicious. It seemed there had been more to the convoy than merely transporting from point A to B and he could guess what had went down away from their gazes.

Not much further ahead the Autobots found themselves trapped between a cliff and Vehicons that had transformed to their bipedal modes, falling from the sky, and not giving them a way out beyond doing the same and fighting for their sparks. The team was at an impasse, waiting on their leader´s orders weather to take their chances with the cliff or the Vehicons.

"Agent Fowler, I´m afraid that if you and we are to survive it has become absolutely necessary to drop our cover." Optimus informed the man and proceeded to transform, along with the rest of the Autobots, and set him on top of a nearby plateau. "Remain here."

Fowler felt like throwing up, both the bumpy ride and the transformation process having taken a toll on his stomach. "Will do." The man could only steady himself after and observe from that point on, his small stature and insufficiently armed body belonging nowhere near the titan-sized battle.

"After a long road trip it feels good to get out of the card, stretch my legs and kick some tailpipe." Bulkhead was the first to move in, deploying his wrecking ball and taking off in a run at the Decepticons, prompting his teammates to do the same as well as their enemies.

Optimus brought a hand to his comm and ordered in their secret element. "Airachnid, NOW!" He punched down one of the Vehicons in his momentum. "Cover is no longer needed!"

The spider-femme had been following them from the start, but not in her helicopter mode like she´d expected after having been told her help would be needed in their mission. Her role was to be the element of surprise, the one that took the most unlikely route in their convoy- underground support. She emerged in her ´drill-mode´, startling the nearby Vehicon and launched herself at him with no hesitation.

"Finally! I was starting to think you didn´t want to look at my ugly frame!" Airachnid clawed at her opponent relentlessly, eager to let out her frustrations on the faceless Decepticon until he was no more than a pile of metal at her pedes.

The helicopter circled the scene, observing the metal giants they´d been unknowingly chasing fight with the newly-arrived jets that proved to be just the same.

"So, the rumors are true. Living technology stands before us." There had been talk in some corners of the internet, mainly thought to be conspiracy theories and general fiction, along with the occasional blurry photo of something and an aftermath of destruction but to witness it in person was all the most satisfying. "Though perhaps not for very long."

"Sir, if the Dingus wasn´t in the truck…" The pilot voiced his concerns. They´d been duped.

"Yes, that." Silas contacted the man down below. "Special Agent Fowler you live a charmed life walking among titans."

Fowler picked up his walkie-talkie and looked up at the helicopter hovering above them. "Come on down, I´ll introduce you." Maybe he´d even get in a few punches, just for the heck of it.

"In good time, but at the moment I´m too busy wondering how the Dingus might have vanished in thin air without a trace." If the trailer hadn´t blown up they may have never caught on to the switch but now that they knew… "If you´ll excuse me, I have a train to catch."

The helicopter turned around and went back to chasing after its initial target. The living technology could way a while longer, their primary concern was securing the Dingus before it was delivered to the government and out of their reach.

With a nerve-wrecking realization the man switched channels to talk to the Autobot leader. "Prime, Silas got wise to phase two!" They´d need to hurry up with the Cons and get to the Dingus before MECH got to it first. Even with Doomsday guarding it there was no knowing what other weapons the organization was packing.

"I understand!" Optimus looked at the government agent but, unfortunately, that distraction cost him greatly with immediate consequences. The Vehicon with who he´d been dealing with somehow got a hold of a tree trunk and the Autobot got it right to the helm, and he was roughly pushed down the cliff, startling the man he´d been talking with.

"Prime!"

Airachnid had just knocked her opponent down and was going for the killing blow when she saw the whole ordeal. She attempted to launch a web to catch the Prime but, for a reason, nothing happened and the mech ended up hitting the rocks down below hard enough to send him into temporary stasis.

She was going to owe Solarflare an explanation for that one, no question about it, but, for now, her focus was to offline the Vehicon that had gotten up by taking advantage of her momentary distraction.

* * *

Back at the base they all realized what happened to the Autobot and immediately fear set in their sparks. The plan had derailed considerably and another element could need to be added to the mix but with a nuclear device in the mix they could do more harm than good.

"Oh no! Not good, not good, not good! Optimus is down!" Mayhem was the first to panic, leaning over the console and almost shoving Ratchet out of the way before he pushed her back.

Silverbot kept his cool but inside he was like his sister was on the outside, a nervous wreck. "MECH´s gonna try and make a grab for the Dingus if we can´t stop them."

"Mom´s with it, she can take them on." Radical had since long discarded the holopad and joined in to keep up with the convoy, especially when their primary enemies turned out not to be Decepticons. He had faith that his Carrier would know what to do in case Silas got too close, she may have lacked an alt-mode but her fighting skills were sharp, especially when dealing with humans.

"Erm… hello. I have a problem." The Forger´s strained voice came through their communications system. Had MECH already caught up to her?!

"Doomsday, what happened?" Asked Solarflare, worried about her longtime friend. "We know MECH is on their way!"

"Yes, that too." It was time to reveal her improvised phase to the plan. "I forgot one of my tools on Ratchet´s bench and without it I´m afraid I´ll make the Dingus blow up if my servos aren´t steady enough. I´m pretty sure they´ll be trying to land any time soon and I´m not sure I can trust myself disarm only."

That had gotten Ratchet to go from worried to angry in record time. HE KNEW IT! "You are messing with the same equipment that you know very well could cause a devastating explosion?! Inside a moving vehicle?! What are you thinking?!"

"I´m thinking ´what if it´s not that sensitive to bumps in the road´ and judging by the looks of it I was right if the Cons are on the mix. Now, I need that tool ASAP, there´s no turning back on this!"

Radical made up his mind and went over to the medbot. "Ratchet, open a bridge to the train, I´m the only small enough to fit in there with her."

"Absolutely not!" Crazy, both Carrier and sparkling!

Mayhem had to restrain herself not to grab Ratchet´s shoulders and shake the mech until he agreed. "Hello, the United States of Meltdown?! Lives are at stake. Mainly ours! Just let him do it!"

"I will not bridge a sparkling into a confined space, traveling at ninety miles per hour. I can´t even imagine the number of ways that can go wrong! Mass displacement, trauma, twisted limbs, metal-burn…!"

"Would it help if we had access to the train´s coordinates?" The sparkling held up the previously discarded holopad and pulled out a cable from his subspace, using it to connect the device to the console, and locked onto the moving vehicle with a few keystrokes. The train´s position was displayed on one of the screens up above and Radical took a closer inspection. "And looks like there´s also a fork up ahead, let´s just change that too if they´re trying to land. So, bridge me?" He was getting impatient by the second, his Carrier´s spark was on the line and he would not budge until she was safe.

"Well… no, no, forget it!" Ratchet was almost persuaded before he remembered the tormenting images of offlined sparklings during the war. "I will not endanger a sparkling. We will find another way to-"

"SHUT UP!" If there was a definition for anger, Radical would take home the medal at that moment. He was tired of being treated like he was helpless by the medbot and it would stop NOW. "Listen to me, you half-clocked tinfoil-turkey, you will open that bridge and I am going to be next to my Carrier in less than a minute or else something bad is going to happen… to you. Do I make myself clear?"

Solarflare knew what was coming and attempted to intervene between the small mech and his blind anger before he said something he couldn´t take back. "Radical, maybe you should calm down."

"No! What I need is to help mom. She saved my life, now it´s my turn to return the favor." He never once took his optics off the medic. "Bridge me. Now."

Ratchet was taken back by the display of raw anger but chose to only shake his helm and held firm to his choice. "As I said before, I will not endanger a sparkling´s life."

At that moment something snapped inside Radical. All his life he was burdened with something that was not his fault and yet at almost every turn it prevented him from being like everyone else. He couldn´t fly or fight, anything remotely dangerous to a normal Cybertronian was to be forever out of his reach and no matter how much he attempted to take his processor off his ´condition´ it always came back to taunt him at how helpless he really was.

"THAT´S IT! I HAVE HAD IT! I´VE FRAGGING HAD IT, I´M ALMOST MAYHEM´S AGE FOR SOLUS´ SAKE!"

"What?" That was not what Ratchet had expected.

"Oh no…" Solarflare brought her servo to her helm and attempted to calm her cooling fans. The Autobots would have a field day on that one and it would mean Doomsday being demanded explanations.

Mayhem´s wings dropped and her optics softened. It was so unfair the way he´d been treated but to think he´d go so far as to reveal the secret… She´d guessed it was only a matter of time before it happened but not so soon. "Rad, what… why did you tell him? You know you didn´t have to."

"You heard the mech, bridge Rad to Doomsday. Now." The triple-changer towered over the Autobot medic and narrowed his optics menacingly. He did not like using his stature to intimidate allies but every rule had its exception.

"I…I´m…. yes. But after I need to-" Ratchet was cut off by Radical once again.

"CNA coding error, just do it already!"

* * *

The helicopter hovered above the train, their prize just below in their reach. All they had to do was take care of any potential military personnel riding along with the Dingus and then collect their well-earned reward with what they expected was minimal effort, since the original convoy found itself busy at the moment.

"Immobilize them." Silas gave the order to one of the soldiers riding on the back.

One of the goons picked up a gun and shot a large metal dart that locked itself onto the train and imbedded onto one of the carriages. A sudden round of electric pulses racked throughout the moving target and knocked out all soldiers aboard the train with a powerful shock. They all fell down, unresponsive to their enemies above and unable to defend their cargo, leaving only one conscious.

"Ahhhhh!" Doomsday felt the current pass through her but what left her vocals was not a pained scream or even anything close to that. The femme was left breathless for a few brief seconds, working out what might have happened and thankful she hadn't been working on the device when it happened. "Oh, dearest Solus, I haven´t felt like that in a long time. I gotta get myself one of whatever they have."

A groundbridge opened behind her and it was with great relief Doomsday saw her son come through. She smiled at the sparkling at her pedes carrying her missing tool and could not be more relieved. The project she´d conjured up could finally be completed and they could say goodbye to a potential meltdown in both the short and long run.

"I did something stupid." Those were the first words the young mech uttered after the green vortex disappeared.

"Who cares, so have I! Thank you so much for this, hand it over, please." Doomsday reached back with her open servo and took the tool handed to her.

"Wait!" He suddenly remembered the upcoming fork in the tracks and held onto one of is Carrier´s legs. "Brace yourself!"

The train switched directions, causing the two bots inside to press themselves against the metal floor, and they heard helicopter miss the landing. Radical´s hacking skills had proven useful once again and that was something he´d always be proud of. His size did not matter when he was behind a screen, all he needed was the skills to pull of whatever he planned on doing and nothing else mattered during those moments.

The older Maker sighed and smiled at her son. "Thanks, I did not want to be handling this bomb when that happened."

"That´s not a bomb- wait, what are you doing?" All he saw were discarded metal parts and wires decorating the floor at the front of the carriage and, even though he had full confidence in his Carrier´s skills, being at ground-zero during an explosion was not something he´d wished to repeat.

"I´m making this thing safer. Hopefully."

They head a thud from above and it did not take more than three seconds for metal sparks to spring from where the noise had come from. The helicopter had landed successfully that time and they had started cutting through the carriage roof with not a moment to waste.

"Scrap. I bought us what, ten seconds?! I´m sorry."

"No worries, sweetspark, ten seconds can be plenty of time in a situation like this." Doomsday commed the base and did not waste any time. "Hey, Ratchet, how´s about you bridge him out of here?"

"I can´t, I lost access to the train data!" The response the Forget got was far from what she´d expected. "They must have noticed there was a hacker and shut us down, the holopad got fried!"

Mayhem could be heard in the background lamenting over her lost pictures. "My memories!" She sobbed.

"Scrap!" She shut off the call and raked her processor for another way out. "You know what, from now I say frag the high and mighty leader´s orders, if they come in point and shoot!" The Maker had not saved him just to see her sweet mech offlined at the hands of mere humans with fancy gadgets.

Searching though his limited subspace Radical came up with nothing useful. "I don´t have any weapons on me!"

Doomsday reached in her own subspace, faced with a little difficulty from the crammed space, and threw a grenade at her son. "Pull the pin and throw, just like I taught you. It´s a warning grenade, it shouldn´t damage the carriage too much." Immediately the femme went back to working on her project. A little pull here, some welding there, maybe that part could be useful…

"We´re right next to a highly sensitive bomb!" Crazy… both of them.

"Not anymore!" She´d done it. Now all they had to do was hop out… somehow.

The ceiling opened at last and three soldiers looked though it see another large robot along with a smaller one with a round object in hand ready to throw it. Looks of surprise crossed their masked faces but no weapons were pointed, they did not know how dangerous these two were.

"Wanna know what an alien grenade feels like?!" Radical did not want to throw it and test his Carrier´s theory but he´d learned that, in order to survive strained situations, you had to make strained decisions.

* * *

The fight continued on, they were holding their ground just barely, the Vehicons seemed more well-trained and organized. Starscream at least had done something to improve either training or morale and it showed in the way those Decepticons handled themselves in the battlefield but it hadn´t been enough for a win.

The Autobots and the Maker were almost finished in dispatching the faceless bots when Optimus regained consciousness. He shook his helm and attempted at gathering his last thoughts when he the train pass down below with the MECH helicopter perched right on top of the carried that contained both the Dingus and Doomsday.

He ran down as fast as possible and turned into his alt-mode to gain some ground on the train. He would not let such a dangerous device fall in the hands of humans who planned to use it to rule the Earth and all humans living on it. He´d see what happened on Cybertron and no other planets deserved to suffer the same fate.

"Retreat!" When Silas looked out the window to see a familiar speeding truck he issued his order. With their current weaponry they had no chance in beating that class of enemy but maybe, in time, the scales would shift.

The three soldiers obeyed their leader and went back into the helicopter with no complaints and took off. They were ready to leave but not before making sure they left an impression of their meeting.

"First rule of combat, never leave the enemy with the spoils."

Back inside the train carriage both Makers let out sighs of relief at the sight of the MECH soldiers taking off. There would be no reprimands for them, at least more than those they´d already set themselves up for.

Radical put away the grenade, glad for no longer being in a position where he´d be forced to use it. "Huh, I can´t believe that worked."

"Good, because I think I gave you the wrong grenade." Doomsday looked back at her son with a forced smile. Yep, definitely the wrong one.

An explosion was heard up ahead and, once again, their sparks began beating faster.

"Rad, what was that?!"

The sparkling opened the door and looked outside to see the tracks up ahead were blown up, most likely at the hands of the men they´d prepared to face.

"We have to jump, they blew up the tracks!"

"Just our luck, if they can´t have it they might as well just cause a meltdown, real mature!" Doomsday scooted over to the door and grabbed onto the outside carriage roof, propping herself up on top of it and extending her servo to Radical. "Gab on!"

He saw the crate back intact with his Carrier´s tools still on the floor and panicked. "What about the Dingus?"

"Don´t worry, let´s just get out of here." When the Forger saw Optimus come up close to them she laughed. "Right on time!" With sift motions she picked up her son and jumped on top of the truck.

"Hold on!" The Autobot leader accelerated to the front of the train, transformed to bipedal mode and, while Doomsday and Radical held on, grabbed onto the front and used all his strength to slow it down, his pedes sinking into the ground bellow.

"The Dingus is safe, you don´t need to do this!"

"Human lives are at stake!" He reminded her of the human military still aboard the vehicle.

He did not give up, gathering all his strength, both physical and his will, he poured all he had into prospecting the lives of innocents. They had come this far to fail at the critical stage.

The train stopped just at the edge of the blown up tracks. A relief for everyone.

"Well played, visitors, but MECH still has own field advantage and we´ll find a way to level that playing field, even if we have to open you up to see what makes you tick." A display of the bigger robot showed up on a screen in front of Silas. Their species was clearly made from males and females capable of reproduction, given the differences between the three in front of him, but they had no time to lean that part of their biology.

The helicopter flew away under the gaze of the three Cybertronians. They knew that meeting was to be the first of many to come.

Doomsday climbed down and at set Radical on the floor, glad to no longer be moving at ninety miles per hour with a dangerous energy source that doubled as a bomb. She reached in her subspace and retrieved what looked like a reinforced crate, the size barely bigger than that of a potable cooler. "Tell Fowler his Dingus is ten percent more effective, not meltdown-prone and comes in smaller packaging." She looked smugly at the, should she say impressed or angry, Autobot.

"Optimus, are you and the Makers… intact?" Ratchet commed, unsure of the answer he'd be getting.

"Intact, Ratchet, crisis averted, but the world in which we live in is a different one than previously imagined. One which has spawn its own Decepticons." Could it be another Megatron was on the horizon as well?

The others arrived in their alt-modes shortly after and ran up to see if their leader was alright, glad their mission was a, somewhat, success.

Airachnid landed nearby and Doomsday want up to meet her while Rad asked Bumblebee what happened in their fight. That Forger was to be the death of them, she humorously though.

Optimus looked at the femmes talking animatedly and though back to his fall. He´d never expected to have seen so much hate in her optics directed at him.

* * *

 **AN:** Anyone ask for a flashback chapter? Because that's what you're getting in maybe 2 or 3 days. Until then **read and review**!


	19. Remember and forget

**AN:** This is it. The chapter I´ve been itching to post ever since I posted this story. Also look up **luz - Queen of heart** on youtube for the sing and dance act if you want to take a peek into my idea when I wrote it.

* * *

Forgers.

The supposed descendants of Solus herself have quite a history recorded back to when the Prime was fatally wounded, nothing previous to that having survived either in written means or oral stories. Some liked to picture them as helpers created to assist in bringing into existence the many inventions thought up by Solus while others regarded Forgers as merely a passing fancy, beings that were forged as one would a piece of equipment and then released into the ´wild´.

There were some scholars, however, that theorized the faction began with just one, the sparkling of Solus and Megatronus, a being endowed with the powers of creation and destruction, savior of many and destroyer of those in their way. Mech or femme was something no one was able to pin on them, however, but those who defended this theory supported their claims by stating that the Forger CNA would override any other, meaning a sparkling with one for a parent would always end up being a Forger.

Returning the subject of their origins, once Solus Prime´s body returned to the Core of Cybertron it left a passage behind, the Well of All Sparks. Feeling the need to pay their respects to who had brought them to life the Forgers began building their society around the fount of their planet´s life source, observing every time a spark emerged with the same joy as if it was the first. The Forge of Solus had been taken away from them, laid to rest far away along with a memorial tomb, and no matter how much they had begged and groveled before the other Primes none took heed of their request. They were left with only the symbol of their Creator´s death, the one she had used while living torn from their grasp with no second thoughts to their desire to keep Solus´ passion for creation alive, and so they vowed to never part from the last remaining one.

Cybertronian society flourished under their gaze, regarding them not as a nuisance but as experienced elders, beings who housed actual knowledge from a Prime and put it to use by merging in with the ones birthed from the Well and spreading their influence. The older Forgers became teachers while the younger ones learned alongside everyone else, taking their place in all manners of jobs and positions. From miners to guards they were everywhere, mixing in almost perfectly with those around them save for the telltale ´dreadlocks´ like those sported by Solus herself, all were created as femmes and one other particular thing. None possessed a T-Cog or could have one implanted in their frames.

The power of transformation was gifted to Cybertronians by Amalgamous, the gentle prankster and ever-changing Prime. As such, being created before all others, Forgers lacked any support necessary to an alt-mode of any type, be it ground or aerial none would ever enjoy the freedom described by their peers, but, at the end of it all, they would not trade the joy they found in creation for anything else.

Many Forgers would go on to impulse sciences and medicine, their innate knowledge of metalworking vital in developing machines to help in their survival and well-being. Like Solus, they rejoiced in helping others by using the creation skills long-imprinted in their processors but, unfortunately, with the good came the bad. Weapons were also created and, thankfully, most were wither destroyed or hidden away. The joy for creation was never ill-intentioned but the Forgers could not repress the need to build something new, be it a toy or a bomb, during the creation process it was all in the same. Imagination becoming reality.

As the civilization moved along so did society and, unfortunately, that time the changes were not for the best interest of everyone.

Functionism became the way to appraise everyone´s value, based on their alt-mode and its scarcity one could end up as low, middle or high caste. The powerful began instating castes and upon emerging from the Well of All Sparks a Cybertronian would be assigned to one out of the three ´options´. The low caste was the most numerous, considered to be expendable as most were uneducated miners and industrial workers, usually not even given a proper designation, ending up being known as, for example, D-16. To belong in the middle caste one would have to be apt for building and civil engineering or work for the Hall of Records (the latter being closer to high caste than most) and the main difference separating them from the lower caste was freedom since the others below them were often no more than slaves to a master or even the Council. At last there was the high caste where scientists and governmental agents mingled in isolation for their lesser brethren, a life of luxury and abundance at their grasp while the other castes struggled could only look in despair.

But, where would Forgers fit in since they possessed no alt-mode to speak of? Well, the Council proposed to categorize them between the middle and high castes, their lack of transformation being understandable and their intelligence rivaling that of the best scientists in Cybertron. Those alive at the time looked at each other and then at what their beloved planet had become: corrupted, greedy and power-hungry beings now controlled nearly all aspects of daily life with no leeway for a no (in that case nothing that an empurata or shadowplay couldn´t fix). In their time of internal conflict the Forgers did what they´d always done and looked to Solus for an answers. Solus, who was always quick to anger at the sight of any injustice.

Suffice to say, in the end, their refusal to participate in the biased caste system cost the Forgers greatly. First, they lost their ancestral home, the Well of All Sparks. Shunned away with threats of violence they complied without resistance, opting to avoid causing a war that would most likely be fought by the lower castes, the ones who were not at fault for having been created with the wrong alt-mode and forced into a life of servitude. With nowhere that would take them in the rigid caste-driven cities the Forgers ventured to just out of the shores of the Rust Sea, proclaiming that while they may have lost the Well no one else would be as blessed as them by any of the Original Primes.

As construction of their new district went ahead word spread about the exiled faction and their adamant refusal to obey the Council by rejecting all caste ideology. Just outside of the rust sea, whispered some miners as they rested their depleted frames, there was a paradise created by Solus herself, where no master could find you and the most beautiful femmes would take you in and give you a life with a proper designation and dignity. Soon enough the appearance of a random Cybertronian runaway became common during the construction of the Forger district and even after its completion more and more joined in, knowing their former masters would not want to pick a fight with someone better armed than them. Most of the refugees were femmes, daring to take a chance at suffering the wrath of the system than to bend to the abuse and disrespect they´d expect if allowing others to walk over them as permitted by their caste.

If runaway slaves were bad enough for the Council´s image they did not like what came soon after. In their pursuit for eternal glory, emphasis on the eternal, some scientists began reaching the same conclusion: if a Forger wished they could replace their inner parts over and over with no consequence to them, the opposite of any normal Cybertronian. It was bad enough for the faction to poses abilities from one of the Thirteen but if they were indeed immortal there was nothing stopping the from playing the waiting game, until the Council became either debilitated or divided amongst itself, and overthrowing the system put in place. Something had to be done, the quicker the better, and stifle the hypothetical rebellion before it even took place.

It wasn´t long before the Forgers looked around at what they had created, a society with no obstructions where with hard work one could become what they wished. Medic, security officer, energon gatherer (miner still carried negative undertones and as such was not used), whatever else a Cybertronian wanted to be they could with without facing arbitrary restrictions. It was at that point a gift was given to the ones that had sought refused within the district: the Forgers adopted a new designation to give their old one to all that came to them. Had it not been said? Forgers were not originally Forgers as they went by Makers in the first place, from Solus the Maker herself to them and from them to all that sought freedom.

Everything was alright… for a while. Then came the Forger Genocide.

Nothing could have prepared the Makers for what was to happen. When they came out of recharge the majority of Forgers would be offlined, their energon spilled and sparks extinguished by the employment of brainwashed asylum seekers who´d proceed to commit suicide shortly after completing their mission. On all of Cybertron many swore on that occasion a femme could be heard screaming from afar, chilling their sparks with the overflowing amount of grief her sobs carried.

From that point on hard times settled in, even with the handful of Forgers left standing not much could done like they used to. Their main source of income had been the manufacture of armor and tools for the general populace and they could no longer meet the demand, meaning it would not be long before starvation settled in. Even with severely diminished numbers if something were not done fast that could spell out the end for every single one of the Makers. The better apt to lead came together to figure out a way to face their emerging crisis but not much could be done. Who would hire a caste-less Cybertronian? They all knew what being caste-less meant, selling their frames… to the highest bidder. It was at that moment an announcement was made and, if all Makers were in agreement, their district would go from one focused on industrial supplies and focus on _entertainment_. A very particular type that could bring in shanix without question and give them an invaluable place in society.

Factories became bars, production lines turned into stages, energon dispensers were upgraded to refine the product into high-grade and the femmes that had ran away from a possible life like what they were about to face went back with no regrets. If it was to be gawked at and appraised like an object it would be on their terms, they had a whole society to support and would be dammed if the dream the Forgers had held died along with them. High-grade was passed about as if it were a lifeline, keeping their faked smiles in place and weapons away from the more important ´guests´ whenever they decide to pay a visit to see the once proud Maker faction one step away from begging for survival. How the workers wished to turn those unbearable smirks into expressions of horror and moans into screams of untold torment but all they could do was swallow down their feelings with the help of high-grade. Lots of high-grade.

As time went by things began to settle down and the Makers began settling in their role within society. The one thing Forgers had escaped from had caught up to them: a place within the caste system with no way out. No one would hire a Maker outside their district, nor would they give them training or even education in any field, they would be forever backed into a corner with no way of escaping. Forgers had all but disappeared except for one and, while she would be forever haunted by the recollections of seeing her friends murdered, she chose to keep the only business opened in the district where one could commission for weapons and armor, glad at least gladiators paid enough to keep her doors open.

Good thing high-grade erased memories and made reality more tolerable. Also a lot more fun as well…

* * *

"And now, put your servos together for a rarer gem than any found on Cybertron and beyond. She will tear your spark apart and build it right back up. I. Give. You. DOOMSDAY!"

The feme strutted onto the stage with open arms, welcoming the cheers of her audience, drunk on both the attention and the cubes of high-grade she´d previously consumed. She couldn´t help but laugh, her voice muffled by the loud music and all the different working-class mechs begging to be her one and only (temporary) passion- for a fee, of course. The school wasn´t going to remodel itself.

"Yes!" "Bring it, sweetspark!" "Show us what you got!" "How much for a ride?"

As she danced and sang to the beat of the music, the stage belonging only to her, all optics focused on her, everything was about her at that moment. They all desired her and wanted her to desire them, their inhibitions gone the instant they stepped into the bar to forget about their lives on the outside and let their bittersweet existences disappear for the time being. Out there in the Maker district all your desires could be brought into reality provided you had enough shanix to make that happen, usually only the higher caste could afford it but every once in a while some lucky middle class mech splurged more than he should, not that anyone complained.

Her frame was devoid of all armor, the only things providing any sort of coverage were a fabric double side split ´skirt´ that flowed with her very move along with the bangles on her arms and beautiful long necklaces that dangled from her neck. She looked more like an expensive ornamental piece than entertainer but they all did in their particular line of work, to entice a costumer even if it was merely to talk they had to be beautiful, both in their constantly retouched paintjob and clothing.

When the song came to an end the audience clapped and cheered one final time. For her. Doomsday took a bow and ran her servos from her upper legs to her neck for an extra kick and blew a kiss to the lust-struck crowd before stepping offstage to head for the backstage. She didn´t have time to linger, there was a commission waiting to be finished on her worktable and the only reason she´d left it incomplete was because the boredom was getting to her processor. Also a lack of decent high-grade and good company, all her friends were working at the moment.

"And that, my fellow mechs, was Doomsday, the one to make you cheer for her in more ways than one!" Voicejack, the longtime bar´s DJ and announcer, exclaimed with a laugh. "Unfortunately she is not on the house´s list for the time being but despair not, for where one lacks ten take her place! Up next we have the trine to dive your spark in three, they beauty only matched by their lovely voices. Please welcome Stagefright, Caterwaul and Curtaincall!"

Only three in ten Makers were mechs, most of who worked either in high-grade production or in more normal jobs within the district, and Voicejack was probably the loudest of them all. He could always be found sitting behind his equipment next to the stage, a permanent grin showing off his sharp dentas, a rather intimidating figure when considering his thin frame and wings. Most curious of all was his relationship with Stagefright, the top earner in all the district. He watched constantly as she displayed herself for all of Cybertron to see and took exclusively the high caste to her berth, making use of her highly sought-after seeker frame and pure lineage, but did not put much though into it, knowing that just as she held his spark he held hers. That was the truth for most Makers that were mechs, entertainment was where the overwhelming majority of shanix came from and everyone knew not to pick a fight with any femme from that district. They were beautiful yet deadly when the need to defend themselves surged.

* * *

"You were amazing out there, like always."

"Hey, do you think you could install me taser?"

"How´s about a friendly game of Praxus Fold ´Em? There´s still a while before we go up on stage."

Doomsday smiled at the welcoming faceplates of her many friends. She´d only arrived on top of her timed performance and could only change into her ´work adornments´ with no time for chit-chat. "I know. Yes I can, schedule up a date with me later. Sorry, can´t do it, I´ve got work waiting back at the shop for me."

"Doomsday! Over here!" A familiar voice called the attention of the Forger.

The spider-femme was lounging in one of the many large plush chairs that decorated the room, hers being made from some sort of organic glue and grey fur, a gift from her highest-paying client, no doubt. She beckoned the Forger over with her digits in a sluggish manner, clearly needing a good power-down after her ´work session´, and folded her legs under her frame to make available a sitting space.

Walking up to her friend Doomsday fidgeted with her necklaces, eager to get the weight off her neck. "You heard me, I can´t take long. So, what do you want? Disjoint one of Shockwave´s shoulders again, have you?"

"The Senator is no longer here and no. This time he had the discernment of not fidgeting too much in my webs, like he should have from the beginning. Honestly, if a mech wants to be tied up he should know the more material used the less he can move." Airachnid examined her claws with feigned disinterest and extended her legs once more, seeing that her offer wasn´t going to be taken. "But that´s not why called you over, I wanted to know if you´ve seen Flare around."

"I happen to know she´s working late at the clinic, had to leave Silver and Mayhem with a temporary caregiver but I can´t remember who. I had one too many shots of whatever it was Slashbound came up with this time and he was not joking about the kick it gives you." Ah yes, her other hobby was ingesting whatever inebriating concoctions the bartender came up with, sometimes good other times like her tank was flaming like the Pits of Unicron.

"Yeah, well, ever since Flare had Mayhem it´s like we don´t exist most of the time. She only ever comes here to work and it´s only talking work, she won´t even go on stage anymore with except when some can´t perform."

It had been fun while it lasted. The three of them had performed together in quite a few shows after the spider-femme had suddenly shown up in a panic and asked (begged) to become a Maker, insisting she´d do anything to earn her keep. It had taken a while for her to find her better-suited theme but, in the end, all that pent-up anger had to count for something, because whips and chains were now her things and there were a lot of powerful mechs who´d pay to relinquish control for a brief instances. Airachnid had become a natural dom after that, she could tell with just a glance if a mech that walked through the front door had that glimmer in his optics that begged for relief from his daily life and took full advantage of her skills.

Sadly all things must come to an end and so did their stage partnership, but their friendship suffered as well. After Solarflare had Silverbot everything had remain pretty much the same but when Victory was assassinated by a bot at the Council´s orders she´d lost the will to do much else that work at the clinic. Now with Silverbot and Mayhem it was as if her life was between the two sparklings and her medic work, barely stopping at the bar if it wasn´t asked of her to help with the workload.

"After what she went through I think the joy of going on stage is long gone. Imagine, losing the bot who claimed to love you the first time was bad enough but the second time…" Doomsday knew what it was like to lose people she cared about. She´d never had any inclinations to fall in love in all her life but a family did sound nice every now and then.

Airachnid felt her fangs showing in depreciation at the thought. "So? I found out the mech I was going to bond with turned out to be not so accepting of everyone as he claimed after I got my ´extreme makeover´ and got over it by fragging more mechs than he could ever count."

"Please, if you could fix problems like that I wouldn´t drown myself in high-grade at every chance. And you´re not over him, if that mech walked in you'd rip his spark out."

After a moment of silence and wondering, the spider-femme burst out in a laugh, more manic than amused, and sunk dower in her plush chair with her legs up in the air. "As if. He´d offline from a spark-attack faster than I could get to him." She paused to think before continuing, wiping a stray energon tear from her faceplates. "I´d like to see that. Preferably when I´m on stage wearing nothing but chains."

The Forger let out a sigh and stretched her joints. She wasn´t intoxicated enough to deal with sad stuff and still had to go change into her regular armor before leaving. The jewelry adorning her frame was very much real and expensive. Mechs loved to see their gifts being put to use and displayed for all to see, so why not use it to classy up the acts?

"As much as I´d like to stick around, work calls. This is my hobby, forging is my work." Doomsday turned her back to her friend and walked away to hang up her costume. "Later."

"Eugh. Everyone leaves. Typical."

* * *

Doomsday sauntered though the streets with a sprig in her step, humming the song she´d sang with a smile, swaying her hips along to an invisible beat. There weren´t many out in the streets, everyone preferring to remain inside or already having went home but she didn´t mind, it gave a sense of calmness to wander among the buildings, each and every one meticulously repaired to attract customers to the district.

The happiest memories she kept were of that bar, where she´d made wonderful friends and performed on to her spark´s content. She´d taught some workers how to incapacitate rowdier costumers without much effort and they taught her to sing and dance, to see the effort put in every performance. From the wardrobe to the choreography, going over the composition of the music and time invested in learning to move in synchrony, it was needed a high level of trust among them all and that made them a family not related in any way but at the same time closer than many.

If the streets weren´t silent she might not have head it but a high-pitched soft chirp cut though her audio receptors. Doomsday stopped in her tracks and made a face while looking at the alley from where the noise had come from. Were they having scraplet problems? No, they´d have swarmed her already if that was the case but what had produced that noise?

Taking out her whip, for safety reasons, Doomsday crept closer to the alleyway from where the chirping was coming from. Moving carefully though the shadows the Forger spotted a brightly colored purple blanket on the ground hiding something small underneath it. Whatever the thing was it moved with sharp yet clumsy gestures. Maybe someone had abandoned their organic pet and though the Maker district would be a good location to dispose of it, after all what better place to ditch an illegal pet when much more illegal things could be going down at the same time?

Shaking her helm with a sigh and storing her weapon, Doomsday walked up to the creature that seemed to be able to be just barely larger than her outstretched servos combined with slow steps. The femme knelt down and carefully peeled back the purple layer, curious about her mystery find, wanting to get a good look at what she was dealing with and-

SAINTED SOLUS ABOVE AND BELLOW! It was definitely abandoned but it was FAR from a pet. It wasn´t even an ´it´ at all.

The seekerlet with specks of orange and yellow stared up at her with bright optics and chirped once again, reaching upward with the tiniest digits she´d ever seen. The poor youngling couldn´t have been brought into the world that long ago, with a bare protoform and no armor to speak of it meant that upon its first glance of whoever they belong to it had also been the last.

"How in all of Cybertron did you end up here?" Doomsday wondered and gently picked up the small being, minding her claws, all inebriation from the high-grade she´d consumed gone from her processor. The Forger held the sparkling close to her chassis and felt a pull at her spark that brought tears to her optics and almost threw her off balance.

It hadn't been enough for the seekerlet to be abandoned but whoever had done it had also refused to bond with it. The pull she was feeling was an instinctive reaction upon creation, reaching out for your Creator and Sire´s sparks to form familial bonds. Wherever you where you should be able to feel each other, even across the universe. Bots called Makers sparkles abominations for embracing the nature most convenient for their survival and rejecting any attempts at fitting into the caste system but they'd never do something so atrocious. Seekers loved sparklings, adored them more than their wings, so why was that particular seekerlet all alone?

If there was someone who could answer her in all the district she knew just the femme for the job.

* * *

A knock on her door interrupted the medbot at work.

"Flare, you in here?"

Great. It wasn´t bad enough she was working with nearly obsolete equipment at the understaffed and only clinic in the entire district she was going to be subjected to the interruptions of a certain Forger. At least her voice didn´t have a slurred pattern to it, meaning she hadn't consumed that much high-grade or most of the substance had already left her system, but it was not the time for catching up.

"I´m busy. Go home, we´ll talk later." Whatever the Forger wanted could wait. She was tired and moments away from wrapping up her work and going home to her sweetsparks.

"I´m coming in, I´ve got something you´ll want to take a look at."

The door opened and Doomsday stepped in with something wrapped in a purple blanket in her arms. The fabric looked fancy, as in being worth enough shanix to pay for a good amount of meals, and was it moving? If she had brought her an organic discarded pet the Forger had another thing coming, the clinic´s resources were only for bots, not animals.

"No, you are…" The comforter was peeled back to show the wiggling protoform of a sparkling, barely old enough to be separated from its Carrier and Sire, by the lack of armor, and the words died in Solarflare´s voicebox. "Please, tell me I'm hallucinating from work-related exhaustion. It´s happened before but this is just too much."

"Yeah… nope. I need you to perform a scan or whatever, I found them on my way home without anyone in sight."

The astounded medbot got up in a flash and went to the medical berth in the corner and picked up her scanner, motioning for her friend to do follow her. "Come on, we need to know if they´re alright. Set them over here."

There wasn´t much Solarflare hadn´t seen in her working experience. Welts and dents were the most common, be it either work-related or, in Victory´s case, from the Pits of Kaon. Sometimes there were outbreaks of lesser viruses but nothing that taken care of quickly wouldn´t go away, the femmes knew how to protect themselves and each other from most anything at that point. There had been some cases of pranks gone wrong among the younger bots but, once again, taken care of quickly didn´t cause much trouble- for her. There had always been a good talking to from the older ones to their reckless sparklings. She prayed Solus hers wouldn´t act up that much.

Doomsday set the seekerlet onto the medical berth, keeping their lower half wrapped up in the comfort of their blanket, their only connection to whoever had brought them into the world. The seekerlet began fussing over not being in held in the Forger´s arms any longer, reaching up to her with clenching servos and demanding chirps.

Solarflare picked up her scanner and went on with her work, double-checking all the vital signs. Who knew how long the little one had been left all alone in the streets? "Well, they are a he and he looks to be fine from my initial diagnosis. No starvation either, before he ended up here someone made sure to fill him up."

The Forger snorted and extended a claw for the sparking to take, letting him marvel at her much larger size with bright optics. "How much do you want to bet that someone did something stupid and this little mech here is the result? You know how Vosians are picky about their flight purity or whatever, he may be the product between one and a two-wheeler."

"Could be." Solarflare removed a pen-like stick from the scanner with a small needle on one of the ends. "Hold his servo up, carefully, I´m going to take a CNA sample. He´ll definitely cry and you´re going to have to calm him down while I run the test."

Minding her claws Doomsday bent over and did as told, gently lifting up his tiny harm and holding his servo open as carefully as possible, afraid she´d use too much force and damage his frame. She could he fix an adult Cybertronian without flinching but an innocent young one did not deserve to suffer in any way. As soon as the needle pierced through the protoform of the sparkling he immediately frowned and crying followed suit. The femme proceeded to pick him up and hold him close to her spark, attempting to soothe him like she´d seen Solarflare do with Silverbot and Mayhem. She whispered sweet nothings for him to stop crying, either managing to calm down the seekerlet or exhaustion had caught up to him because his optics slowly closed as he went into recharge.

Solarflare smiled as the results started to appear on the screen and nodded to her friend. "Hmmm, everything looks fine in here. I´d say he´s as healthy as- wait, hold on." That was weird, the scanned CNA showed what looked like deterioration at some points. "Now, this is odd, the scanner must be off or something."

"What?" Her spark jumped in its casing. Was the sparkling deathly ill… or worse?!

"According to this parts of the CNA have been corrupted. Like a programming error, except this one cuts off at I´d say about the end of sparklinghood, right before the T-Cog is fully formed."

"So, he´s going to offline before he even…"

The medbot did not answer right away, racking up her processor for memories from her days as a student. "I… I don't know. That could happen, or he could be stuck as a sparkling for the rest of his life. I can´t say for sure, this has only ever been theorized."

Doomsday looked down at the recharging seekerlet in her arms. "So, that´s why he was here. They took a look at what we´re looking at and didn´t want something less than perfection going about in Vos. They cared about him enough to leave him somewhere they knew he´d be picked up but not enough to keep him."

"In any case, I´m sure we can find someone to take good care of him."

"Yes. Me."

That was not what Solarflare had expected to hear. "What? But what about your commissions? Your hobby at the bar?" The Forger was a people person when it came to adult Cybertronians, she hadn´t had much interaction with younger ones beyond Silverbot and Mayhem.

"I can slow down for a while, I´ve got enough shanix saved up for a crisis and my guess is this counts as one."

"You don´t have to do that. There´s seekers around, we could place him with one of them."

"What if he lives, after all? Do you think he´d like to be around bots able to take to the skies while he´s forever confined to the ground because of his misfortune? Groundpunder, mudslogger, dustkicker, dirtkisser, I´m sure you´re well-acquainted with those terms, everyone knows what they when mean thrown at a seeker."

Those who could not fly among the winged Cybertronians were usually ostracized and cast aside, what good was a seeker with nothing more than a dead weight on their back?

"But no Maker would ever use it against another. This is serious business, not one of your radical experiments."

"Still… I know what it´s like. No alt-mode, no way to match up to anyone else except with your wits. Please, I know I can raise him to be proud of who he is, even with a pair of forever useless wings."

When deprived of something you knew you could never have life sometimes became a little dimmer. Watching bots take off to the skies or race around for fun always made Doomsday feel a little… down. She was a Forger, gifted by Solus herself with abilities to create above and beyond any Cybertronian´s imagination and yet, being the last one, got some unsavory feelings to rise in her spark. It couldn´t end like that, with a Forger addicted to high-grade and with such a long list of mistakes it could reach the Core of their planet.

"If he does indeed survive. Don´t forget no one can predict the outcome, I can´t even say if his odds are fifty-fifty."

"If he doesn´t, I´ll have given him my everything."

Even if he wasn´t really her own she´d raise him like he was. Being a Carrier had never appealed much to her but now she wouldn´t be so lonely anymore. She held in her arms another one like her and knew he´d be exceptional in whichever way he chose to live his life.

There was a pause, then a sigh of resignation. Stubborn as they came, there was no way she could change the femme´s mind. Solarflare went over to her console, sat down in her slightly uncomfortable chair, and pulled up a blank record, linking it to her friend´s. "So, what´s his designation? I have to put him in the medical database."

"A radical experiment, huh?" With a smile Doomsday ran the pad of her thumb gently against the faceplace of the seekerlet in her arms. "Welcome to the best days of your life… Radical."

* * *

"I hope you enjoyed the story, because it´s over."

"But-"

"She said it was over, time to move on."

* * *

 **AN:** Yes, the cut is abrupt at the end but I actually like it. Look at the title of the chapter and I think you´ll understand why.


	20. Greek harvest

**AN:** I am so sorry it took a week for an underwhelming chapter to be completed but we have 2 people on vacation at work and I am just plain tired.

* * *

Mayhem groaned, barely three paragraphs in her 'studies', and slumped over, bored out of her mind. If her Carrier wanted to catch up on her studies it was all fine and dandy but making a throwback to her sparklinghood with boring reading material made her feel like she was being punished. Which, when thinking about it, made a lot of sense after the rubber ducky incident.

Letting out another unnecessarily loud grunt, the heavy-duty seeker attempted at drawing attention to her complaint, be it from her brother, Bulkhead or Ratchet. "Why do we have to read this stuff?"

"This stuff, as you call it, is Cybertronian history, your history, Mayhem." The medbot didn't even bother to take his optics off the console, knowing if he did it would only be adding more fuel to the fire.

"But I already know plenty about us. Solus created Forgers, Forgers created Makers, the Council fragged over the Makers and the rest is more boring history. Besides, why do we have to do this and Rad doesn't?"

Said orange mech in question was sitting on the platform besides the console, finally having been allowed to help with the more technical aspects of their operations, and did his best to disregard the obvious false equivalent.

"Because I've already read the entire thing while you were out goofing off." He pointed out, reminding Mayhem of her constant base escapades with the pretense of patrolling. "You and Silver may be big but when it's so-called boring work none of you can ever be found. It's like you two turn into cyber ninjas, all you need is a smoke bomb.

"Show off." She sneered and set down her datapad, wanting to avoid throwing it at a wall in frustration. "Still, count me out. Hey, Bulk, how about we go out do some patrolling?" And there it was, just as Radical predicted, Mayhem attempted to wiggle her way out of her responsibilities once again.

The wrecker turned his back to the femme and fiddled with his servos, not wanting to see the guilt-inducing pout she was about to throw at him. He wondered how thin was the ice he was on with both the Autobot and Maker leaders for humoring Mayhem so often.

"Your Carrier wants the best for you, I think you should finish your reading and then we could go off-roading later." He gathered up the courage and then turned to Mayhem and the annoyed look, although a little bothersome, was way more bearable then the alternative. "You really show focus on your studies, you know? Before I became a warrior I was a laborer- construction. I can build stuff, I can break stuff. That's it."

"I love breaking stuff. I wanna do that."

With a dejected sigh he palmed his faceplate in exasperation. "You weren't listening, were you?"

"What? If that doesn't work I can always do what mom did before Cybertron went kaput." It was already her number one option if they ever returned to Cybertron, even if some bots didn't exactly agree with her choice.

"Being a medic still requires studies."

"Not that, I meant the other thing."

"As if she'd ever let you." Silverbot put down his datapad and shivered at the mental image he'd just gotten, attempting to purge it from his processor as fast as possible.

Mayhem had never kept it a secret how she idolized the brief glimpses of their Carrier on stage. The bright lights, the cheering crowd, all the beautiful costumes and songs along with lots of friends who never seemed to get sad and helped to keep their district in shape with all the shanix they brought in… It was at best an idealized version of reality though the optics of a young femme but it had stuck in her processor long enough for her to want it all.

With an almost proud puff of her wings the seeker crossed her arms with a smirk. "She doesn't let me do a lot of things and I still do them."

"We're all aware of that, Miss 'let's storm the Nemesis'." Said her brother with an unimpressed expression, attempting at reminding her of the talk-down she'd received from their Carrier.

"Why would you want to even do that?" Bulkhead was also desperately attempting to wipe away the image of a femme he considered a friend as a 'showbot'. Sometimes it was already awkward when her more Maker tendencies showed through, no need to add even more to that or else one of those days he couldn't even look at her and see just regular old Mayhem anymore.

Mayhem shrugged. "Free stuff from love-struck mechs. Airachnid furnished her whole hab-suite that way."

Before anyone else could attempt to question the heavy-duty seeker's life choices the whole conversation was interrupted by a signal popping up in the world map displayed in one of the console's bigger screens. Maybe it was for the best, arguing with the femme tended to be like a labyrinth, lots of choices but only one outcome- she turned you around so much you never found the exit.

"I'm detecting a fresh energon pulse from the nation called Greece." Ratchet nodded towards the map. "An ancient city, quite historic, I believe."

"Ancient Greece, huh?" The green wrecker wondered if the plan hatching in his processor would work. "Well, Mayhem, if you think Cybertronian history is boring let's try for the Earth one."

"Woohoo, field trip!"

"Educational, field trip."

"Keep telling yourself that." Mayhem patted Bulkhead shoulder with sarcastic sympathy and a smile before tuning to Ratchet. "Hey, doc, bridge us, will ya?"

The Autobot medic sighed but complied with the request, in a few seconds the groundbridge was coming to life and with a rushed 'see you later' the femme had dragged the green mech before he could understand what was happening. After the green vortex closed behind the pair, Ratchet let out another resigned sigh.

"I suspect my job at this base is slowly losing its respect." He commented to no one in particular.

"No, just from her." Radical patted the mech's servo with an awkward smile.

* * *

Mayhem looked around in awe at the clear skies, the desire to take flight and have some fun almost overwhelming her processor. As much as she liked to deny it being a seeker was a part of who she was, her wings meant to be used and cut through the open air even if not reaching the impressive speed her Carrier could due to her heavier frame.

The femme looked below at the ancient ruins (not that ancient when compared to her age) and took in the somewhat familiar architecture style. Hadn't Cybertron had something similar to that? "So, what are we doing in Grecoville?"

Bulkhead took out his energon scouter and followed the signal Ratchet had picked up on to the end of the ledge they were on. "I'm scouting energon, you're going to look around and do some research."

"As if I'd let you hog all the fun stuff. Come on, I'm more than just a cute faceplate. I can also crush Cons." She paused for a moment and let out a low chuckle. "Hehehe, crush Cons, that's kinda catchy."

"Signal's strong." He examined the scouter closer, attempting at pinpointing the exact location that would lead them to their supplies. There were human digging machines down below, paused midway through their work and he realized what must have happened. "An excavation site? Looks like the humans hit energon veins and they don't even know it." It was then that a fresco caught his optic, not because of the images, but because of what was being depicted held in a human's hand. "Whoa, that's Cybertronian."

"It is?" Try as she could, Mayhem could not make heads or tails of what was in front of her.

"Energon Harvester. Why would ancient Greeks paint it?"

"You know what that round thing is?" Mayhem took out her newly-fixed holopad and took a picture to show everyone else. Someone would definitely notice a missing fresco otherwise. "You're smarter than you let on."

"But even dumber than he looks." A mech's voice came from behind them.

The two bots turned around to see another one atop of the many rows of stone stairs, but the insignia on his chassis very clearly identified him as a Decepticon. He was large, probably the same class as Bulkhead, and his scheme of blue with an orange faceplate left no mistake for his identity.

"Breakdown." Bulkhead narrowed his optics. Just what they needed, a big walking disaster.

The Decepticon laughed. So, the old lug still remembered him. Good. "Miss me?"

"Like rust in my undercarriage."

Mayhem looked between the two mechs, wondering what was going on. Sure, they were enemies but from the looks of it there was something personal about their feud. "You know this lunkhead?"

"We have a history."

"And you have a new friend. I've got to say, at least you have good taste." Breakdown then picked up one of the marble columns, raising I above his helm and throwing it straight at the femme. "Catch!"

The marble pillar flew through the air, straight at Mayhem, but she did not let herself get intimidated that easily. With a roar she clenched her first and drove it straight at the incoming projectile, shattering it in a cloud of smaller pieces and dust.

"Mayhem, are you-" Bulkhead didn't have time to finish his question before he was tackled by the Decepticon who used the thick dust cloud as cover.

The mechs tumbled off the ledge and to the ground bellow several yards away, with the Autobot suffering the brunt of the fall. When they bounced off the rocky terrain Breakdown used they momentum and his opponent's confusion to throw him into the fresco, shattering it into a worse state than the column. Bulkhead felt his whole frame scream in pain from the impact but persisted through it, attempting at getting himself up to get in a few hits as well.

"Oops, hope the pretty picture wasn't too important." The blue mech sneered at the green wrecker.

Breakdown prepared to go away, knowing that 'Lord' Starscream was most likely already having a fit over only knock Out having shown up, but got an unexpected (and well deserved) punch right in the faceplate, curtesy of a very pissed off Mayhem. Just like he'd sent the Autobot flying so did he suffer the same fate, crashing and rolling though the rocky terrain, while the femme want to check on her friend for injuries.

"You hurt?" Asked the white and purple seeker, kneeling down to check on any possible injuries, while looking into his optics for any processor damage. Even if she wanted to beat the slag out of the Con her friend came first.

The heavy-hitter mech meanwhile regained his composure and picked himself off the ground before deciding to head the same path as Knock Out. Rivalry or not having Starscream shriek into his audio receptors was not something he wished to experience (again), it wasn't the fact that he was actually impressed at the Maker's strength that could rival some mechs he knew, not at all.

Still, not satisfied with his small victory, he decided to have the last word. "Sweet aft, by the way!" He laughed and turned into his alt-mode, speeding away to find a safe space to bridge onto the Nemesis

"Bootleg!" Mayhem shouted and made a move to give him a piece of her mind, preparing to turn into her jet form, but Bulkhead held her by the arm and shook his helm. She made a face but reluctantly let the Decepticon go in favor of helping Bulkhead sit down. "That was a nasty fall you had there."

"Told you I'm good at breaking things." Bulkhead looked around him to see the fresco beyond repair. Figures he'd run into Breakdown not only have his aft handed to him but also causing a blunder that could cost them a useful artifact.

"It wasn't a total loss." Mayhem attempted to comfort the wrecker by taking out her holopad and giving him a wink and a smile. "Got us a picture of the picture."

* * *

Optimus examined the image displayed with caution before handing back the holopad to Mayhem. To think that such a powerful device had been on Earth for that long and none of the sides had found it was either extremely lucky or unlucky, depending on the way one looked at their situation.

"It is indeed an energon Harvester." He returned the holopad to Mayhem before continuing. "A powerful tool created by the Ancients to remove raw energon from any source."

"Greek gods knew Autobots?" Radical wondered how meddlesome their species actually was with other worlds. "We could barely leave our district and you guys were out here cavorting with humans? So much for robots in disguise."

"Not at all. The Ancients often used the art of a given era to conceal messages. This fresco was likely a signpost indicating a Harvester's location, hidden somewhere on this planet."

"Optimus, I just have one question." Silverbot prayed what he was about to ask wasn't true but the name of the artifact pretty much spelled it out. "If the Harvester removes energon from anything and we all have energon pumping inside us…"

"In Decepticon hands the Harvester would be a devastating weapon."

"See, you are the genius who wrecked that painting." Mayhem patted Bulkhead on the back with a smile and a thumbs up. "I wish I could have wrecked the lugnut for the 'sweet aft' comment but better late than never, I'll get him later, I guess."

It was near imperceptible but if one was paying close attention they could have seen Silverbot's optic twitch. So, that was how the new Cons wanted to play huh? Maybe it was time he began playing a more active role on the field and if this Breakdown was the first he ran into who was he to complain?

"Mayhem's not wrong. How can the Cons find the Harvester without the fresco?" Arcee chimed in.

"With high-speed internet." Radical took out his wrist cable and connected himself to the console. "If you do an image search for Greek god and golden orb this pops up." He pulled up an image of a statue holding a familiar artifact. "It's in a museum."

"That the real deal?" The two wheeler turned to their leader. If it really was genuine they'd need to get their servos on it before the Decepticons put humans in danger in order to retrieve it.

Optimus could only attempt to settle the dread he was feeling in his spark. "Contact Agent Fowler."

The sparkling nodded and quickly pulled up the contact for their liaison. Humans dealt with other humans, it wasn't as if they could wander into the exhibit and mingle with the crowds of organics.

"You've reached Special Agent William Fowler. I'm currently on an intensive training retreat and I'm unavailable until Tuesday."

…That was not what they had been hoping for.

Ratchet groaned and resisted the urge to punch the console. Bulkhead had done that two days ago and it had just been fixed. "I hate talking to machines."

"Without Agent Fowler's direct aid we will have to confiscate the Harvester on our own." The Autobot leader turned to the other bots, mainly the Autobots because any of the Makers would raise suspicion, even in alt mode.

Airachnid chuckled and crossed her arms, leaning against the platform near the console. "So, Autobots are going to be stealing from humans? That sounds fun."

"It sounds illegal." Solarflare corrected the spider-femme.

"I do not wish to break human law, but once the Decepticons learn of the Harvester's location they will not hesitate to obtain it by any means necessary. We must act covertly." Optimus reassured his team. He did not enjoy meddling in human affairs but there were times when their paths crossed and he could only hope for minimal damage.

"No offense but covertly and giant robots don't really go together." Silverbot pointed out the contradiction while making a motion with his digit around the room. If the Decepticons really were to attempt to get their servos on the device anything could happen… Like the missing mountain incident. That had been fun one to explain, Fowler almost had steam literally coming out of his ears.

"Well, one of us is just about the right size to sneak in." Doomsday smiled and motioned towards Radical.

The sparkling in question could only make a confused face and point at himself before smiling as well. He could finally be in one of the missions and no, the train and Dingus transportation did not count, it was only by chance he had to deliver a tool to his Carrier.

"Yeah, I'm not sure that's wise…" Bulkhead trailed off but did not say anything else on account of the Forger making motions with her servo across her neck, her smile having become strained. Yes, he definitely shouldn't say anything else.

"But it may be our best option, Bulkhead. The longer we debate the longer we give the Decepticons." Optimus knew it may be their only option.

"Yes, but it doesn't change the fact Radical isn't human." Solarflare countered the Prime's arguments. "And you" She turned to the modded femme. "should learn that two wrongs don't make a right."

"I could hack into the museum's guard schedule and open us a time window." Radical stepped in before an argument could develop. He was certain his Carrier would lose. With a few key strokes on his keypad he had access to the museum and much more. "They use an outside company for night security whose website could use some serious security updates. About 45 minutes should be more than enough time to get the Harvester out of there."

"See? Problem solved." Doomsday reassured her friend. Her little mech would finally have his time to shine.


	21. Greek conquest

**AN: I am dead... almost. Next week I´ll post maybe two chapters, work is harsh af at the moment and it´s sucking my drive to write.**

* * *

Team Prime arrived well after nightfall, when humans were expected to already be asleep, unaware of the heist that would be taking place, and separated to cover all museum sides. They would need to be careful, as their movements could be considered suspicious, and even if there was no security guard at the moment they would need to leave before the next one arrived in less than an hour.

"Autobots, confirm position." Optimus parked in front of the main doors, on the lookout for any meddling Decepticons.

"Westward on my end." Arcee leaned against the wall with her headlights off.

Bumblebee beeped and confirmed he was in position at the East point.

"South side covered." Bulkhead was left to guard the back entrance.

"Maintain your guard." The Autobot leader suspected they may have visitors soon, it would do them best to act fast. He then focused his attention on the next phase of their plan. "Radical, I will have a clear view of you. Once you secure the harvester contact Ratchet to bridge you back to base."

* * *

Back in the old military silo Radical was armed with, of all things, a human motorized scissor lift. Well, it did make sense, if the Harvester was held up high by a marble statue he'd need a way to get it down without the help of… an adult. He felt like using colorful language at that last thought.

Ratchet pulled the lever to online the bridge and looked down at the… Should he still be considered a sparkling? "Now, since you'll bypass all points of normal entry you won't have to worry about setting off the alarms but take care and avoid being spotted by security cameras."

"Take care." Solarflare nodded towards the small mech.

"Good luck." "Have fun." Silverbot and Mayhem offered their words of encouragement at the same time.

"Make us proud." Airachnid winked from her perch.

"And remember, you break it you buy it." Doomsday smiled and waved a goodbye at her son.

Ratchet turned to the Forger in annoyance. "This is no joking matter, Doomsday."

"What?! He's the one trading in the stock market almost every day, not me."

The medbot looked down at Radical with a cross between surprise and questioning.

With a shrug Radical attempted at avoiding any further questions. "You never know when human money can be useful. And I like videogames, ok?"

With a last look around the control room he went through the bridge under the gaze of several pairs of optics. Some concerned, others not so much, but, in the end, they all wanted him to come back in one piece.

Radical exited the green vortex on the other side and noted that he was on the hallway adjacent to the main exhibit, if the glass wall separating it from the outside was anything to go by. There was also a very familiar truck parked just on the other side and it made him feel a little more at ease.

Now, he just had to locate the Harvester and get out of there. Hopefully it didn't weight too much, he was a lighter model with a sparkling frame, heavy lifting wasn't exactly his specialty. Takin in the different item in the exhibit he attempted to locate the Harvester. T-Rex skeleton? No, but was it him or did it look like a Dinobot? Easter Island head? Funny, but also no. Tall Greek statue holding a golden orb? Bingo.

Outside Optimus made signals with his headlights. It was go time.

The sparkling carefully handled the controls of the lift, he wasn't giant but was still an alien robot with strength to match, and elevated the platform to be able to perform his first task. He plugged his wrist cable into one of the ports on the back of the camera, opened the panel on his wrist and with a few short key strokes the surveillance network would be frozen until the next guard came in.

With security take care of Radical was finally free to move forward and retrieve the Harvester but he was about to get a first-hand taste of what was like to be out in the field.

Outside everything was quiet and Optimus didn't like that one bit. It was when a red Aston Martin approached from behind and pulled to a slow stop next to him that he began fearing the Deceptions were making their move.

Knock Out let out a whistle. "Sweet rims. Twenty four gauge? You're real heavy-duty… just like my friend here."

With that line Breakdown appeared from behind as well and did not waste any time to shoot a missile at the museum. The Harvester would survive the impact but not much else, not that he cared about the useless human relics.

Optimus transformed to bipedal mode and caught the projectile just as it was flying overhead but the force kept pushing him back and he had to give his all to prevent a disaster from happening. He dug his pedes into the ground, deciding if something was going to be damaged better the pavement than the building, yet he kept going back until he was on top of the museum's steps and only stopped when the missile actually touched the glass, causing a worrying spider web crack to appear.

Radical, who was busy attempting to push the Harvester off the statue's hand into the lift the gentlest way he could, heard the telltale sound of glass cracking. Having been raised by a Forger he'd learned to fear that sound from an early age, it always meant something was going wrong and someone would be getting hurt if not careful. He looked outside and felt his spark freeze for a moment then race like it was attempting to burst out of its casing. Solus help him, he needed to hurry up.

The sparkling saw the Autobot leader look over at him, making sure he was hurrying along, but he soon realized that had been a mistake. The red Decepticon took advantage of the Prime's temporary distraction and took out his energon staff to then shove it forcefully in the mech's neck cables, a high voltage electrical current wracking through his frame that rendered him powerless and he fell to the ground.

"Optimus!" It had been impossible to silence the scream that emerged from the sparkling's voicebox.

For good measure the attacker jumped onto the Prime's back to repeat his actions and Radical, while not able to see the red mech's faceplate, knew only a manic glee could be present. It had been a long time since he'd see that particular expression, then again…

Knock Out stood proudly on top of the Autobot leader's back and made light signals to his partner. The others were bound to jump to their leader's defense at any moment and he'd need some heavy support.

Breakdown accelerated towards the museum after receiving the signal but halfway through Bumblebee abandoned his hiding spot and drove at the Decepticon, intending on stopping him. Immediately the heavy-duty mech shot another missile and the scout barely had time to break before the explosion hot the pavement in front of him, causing him to lose momentum and trip forwards just as her turned to bipedal mode.

Arcee came up from her side as well but, just like Bumblebee, Breakdown shot another missile and she barely managed to dodge it, skidding across the pavement was sent crashing into Bumblebee.

Bulkhead came running across from the rooftop and jumped down, ready to have a rematch against the Decepticon. He landed with a loud crash and kept going straight ahead, not thinking about his tactic too much, which was a bad choice since Breakdown took that chance to halt and transform. With a swift punch to the faceplates Bulkhead was sent flying… straight into Knock Out, who did not have time to even scream before the wrecker crashed into him and then both into one of the building's pillars, setting off the alarm.

The vain Decepticon medic was the first to get up and noticed the Autobot leader had almost recovered from the electric shocks and was attempting to steady himself enough to get back up. He grabbed his energon prod, ran up and jumped, once more attempting to subdue the Prime, but got a swift punch that halted his plans and sent him crashing into the pavement.

Inside the museum Radical went into panic when the alarm went off, chastising himself for not having taken care of the alarm. When he was drafted to go on the mission it was like his processor short-circuited and he'd forgotten the basics of breaking and entering that he'd been taught by Sub-Rosa when she looked after him.

With a final shove the Harvester fell to the ground and he followed after, a few cracks growing along the stone floor but was already enough destruction outside, a little more inside wouldn't make too much of a difference. The device was too heavy for him to lift up but it rolled easily when pushed so he moved it along to the nearest exit, completely forgetting about to comm Ratchet in the process.

Going back though the hallway Radical found someone had forgotten to seal off the loading zone from the rest of the museum and did not waste any time in taking advantage of that fact. The room was pretty much empty except for some machinery and saw a loading ramp left half-opened leading to the outside. He kept going and saw a pair of sleek legs coming his way and lit up, knowing only one Autobot had that frame type.

"Arcee!" Radical gave a final push and the Harvester rolled towards the exit with him following close behind.

It was then that the taller Cybertronian knelt down and a servo that definitely didn't belong to the two wheeler pushed the rest of the metal door open and revealed a certain masked Decepticon.

"Wrong bot!" The device was already at the mech's pedes so there wasn't anything the sparkling couldn't do except back away slowly.

Soundwave grabbed the Harvester and made a motion for Radical, attempting to secure the small mech per Starscream's (very demanding) orders. That time he would not allow himself to be caught off-guard by a numbing patch.

Radical could only see the harrowing digits move forward, widening to fit him in their grasp, ready to take him away to the Nemesis and who knew what they would do to him. Seekers were protective of seekerlets, no one could deny it, but if Starscream found out about his condition it could mean a one-way trip to a dissection table for all he knew. Unwilling to back down the sparkling reached into his subspace and took out the grenade his Carrier had given him back when dealing with MECH and hooked his thumb onto the pin.

"Come any closer and both of us are scrap! I'm a Maker, you know I'm crazy enough to do it!" Radical yelled out, doing his best to keep his servos from shaking.

Soundwave halted and remained still in thought. It was true Makers were known for endangering themselves in order to protect others and, while still young, that behavior could have been either taught or absorbed by the seekerlet. Behind his visor he examined the situation and decided it would be best to retreat with only the Harvester, taking a step back before transforming and flying away.

With a relieved sigh Radical lowered his arm and unhooked his digit from the grenade pin and slumped his shoulders. "Thank Solus for stereotypes."

Putting away the weapon he carefully approached the door and looked around for any more surprise Decepticons. He heard two different engines start and move away, meaning the two grounders that had attacked them were also going away, and prepared to face the Autobots.

So much for helping them directly on the field…

"In all likelihood Starscream will use the harvester to gather energon as quickly as he can from the planet's otherwise un-minable deposits. Approach with caution, Starscream will not hesitate to turn it on any one of us." Optimus was confident in his words, even if they may have spelled out doom for the entire team.

With the clock ticking down to an unknown timer the team had to hurry and attempt to locate their enemies before they gained the definite upper hand. The Harvester could be an efficient tool to gather vast amounts of energon in little time or be converted into one of the deadliest weapons in Cybertronian history and in the servos of Decepticons the likeliest option was the second one.

The Autobots and Makers paired off in teams of two, for both ground and aerial support, and bridged to different parts of the globe in an attempt to get a lead on where Starscream might be striking but, since they had no clue where the Nemesis actually was, they were pretty much going in blind. Arcee and Mayhem had already went through as well as Airachnid and Bumblebee, only remaining Optimus and Solarflare to bridge out.

A pull of the lever and the groundbridge was onlined once more while the Prime addressed the green wrecker. "Bulkhead, it is best you remain here."

"What? Why?" Surprise overtook the mech and he couldn't help thinking he'd done something wrong. Had it been because Breakdown had bested him twice?

"So you can help Ratchet."

Doomsday let out a purposeful sigh but did not take her optics off the parts she was welding together. "Yeah, just pretend I'm not even here."

After the fiasco at the museum with damaged property and a missing piece of supposed Greek history Agent Fowler would more than surely yell in their audio receptors six ways from Sunday, so the least they could to in order to avoid some of that conversation was to build a replica. Doomsday and Ratchet sat on crates around another bigger crate with various mixed parts strewn around and were attempting to put together a reconstruction of the Harvester to return by the end of the day, even if they did so without much enthusiasm.

"And what am I, a scraplet?" Silverbot approached the Prime. "If Bulkhead isn't going it means that either I'll be heading out alone or I'm in the same position."

"You would stand out too much, it is best you remain here until we discover where Starscream is planning to strike." Optimus chose to leave it at that and made a motion to prompt Solarflare to follow him.

The femme put her servo on her son's much bigger one and gave him a weak smile. "I know you want to help, but please refrain from pulling a Mayhem and stay here." With a last reassuring squeeze she went after the blue and red mech though the green vortex, knowing at least her son had the impulse control her daughter lacked.

The groundbridge closed behind the femme and it wasn't long before the discontent started showing through with the actions of the wrecker.

"This is so not fair!" Bulkhead pounded his fist on the nearby table, which happened to be the one where the replica was being built, and crushed one of the tools while also making Doomsday jump out of her seat and fall backwards with a yelp.

"Bulkhead, I needed that!" Ratchet chastised the bigger mech but after so many times it looked like he'd become indifferent to the complaints.

"I'm on it." Said Doomsday without much enthusiasm while not making no move to get up, looking up at the ceiling wondering if that had been what people felt when something on her worktable either exploded or short-circuited. If so, it actually explain a few things.

"Why am I in here when Breakdown is out there?! I know his moves, I can fight him." Bulkhead pleaded with the medbot.

"And he knows yours." Ratchet pointed out. "Agent Fowler's going to be furious enough as it is. Right now we need to return this replica to the museum, the construction of which would be going a whole lot faster if you hadn't mangled my frame welder."

"Trespassers and thieves, why not add forgery to the list?" Radical thought out loud while attempting to contact their liaison for what seemed the fiftieth time with no results, the recording paying once again. "Yeah… we're not going to go very far on this."

Bulkhead let out a groan and palmed his helm. "I wish I never was the one to…" Halting his train of thought the wrecked remembered an important detail. "Wait, the painting of the Harvester wasn't the only thing we found in those ruins, the humans struck an energon vein back there. Starscream's not dumb, no matter what kind of tool he has he's gonna take the easy route. Doc, you gotta bridge me to those ruins."

"Oh no, he doesn't." Silverbot took a step forward to stand in front of the green mech. "You heard Optimus, you stay here while I'm on reserve for when we locate Starscream. And we just did, so, Ratchet, bridge me a little further up, please, I'm going to make an entrance."

"I'll go with you."

"No, you're not. Wanna know why?"

The triple changer was leaning over, towering over the wrecker in in unconscious intimidating gesture, a neutral expression on his faceplates that made Bulkhead a little frightened. He knew Silverbot claimed he wasn't one to make use of his stature just because and that he didn't enjoy fighting the way Mayhem did but to have a bot of that caliber tower over him made the wrecker feel weak at his knee joints. The green mech could only nod for the other to go ahead.

"My sister is very important to me and somewhere along the line a certain someone made the mistake of making a comment that I did not appreciate. I know, she can take care of herself just fine, and if had been during a stage performance back in the district I wouldn't have cared the smallest bit, but now something very dangerous is telling me to reduce that Con to scrap and you really don't want to see me angry. We clear?"

"…Yes."

"I knew you'd understand."

The sun had set not long ago and, while here was no darkness to provide much cover yet, Starscream, Knock Out and Breakdown were already at the freshly detected energon vein where the fresco depicting the Harvester had previously stood.

With the relic held in the self-appointed Lord's hand he confidently walked (he did not prance!) about, taking another moment to rejoice in their newest acquisition. For all the time they'd been on Earth during Megatron's leadership not once had they possessed such an item, proving once and for all who was best fitted to lead the Decepticons into conquest of that pitiful planet and the destruction of the Autobots.

"Why move mountains now when we have a motherlode of energon right here for the taking? Curtesy of this gift from ancient Autobots." Starscream admired the golden orb in his servo and held it proudly.

"Actually, Commander Starscream, it was a gift from Breakdown and myself." Knock Out could not resist correcting the seeker, his vanity going beyond his always perfect perfect finish.

With a scowl Starscream aimed the relic at the medic and his assistant, the two flinching and raising their arms in self-defense. The red grounder had been called back to the Nemesis in order to provide care for the stasis-locked Megatron, not to voice his opinion or to correct the new Lord of the Decepticons. Still, the two mechs could be useful to fill in the ranks of Vehicons, so I would be best to test the Harvester on someone more… expendable.

A ray of energy shot from the golden orb but went over the cowering bots, striking the only Vehicon patroller they'd brought along. It was a spectacle to watch for the three mechs as the hapless drone convulsed as the energon pumping through his frame was extracted in the form of a blue mist that encircled the ray and was absorbed into the Harvester, effectively offlining the patroller before the black and purple bot even fell to the ground.

The seeker smirked and once again proudly held the relic. "All that energon in such a tiny vessel."

Fearing for more than his finish, Knock Out nervously smiled. "Those ancient Autobots never missed a trick, Lord Starscream."

Pointing the Harvester again at the pair, making them flinch, Starscream resisted the urge to laugh and turned around, aiming it at the exposed energon crystals that the humans had uncovered during their excavation. No more mining operation for the Autobots to raid, a small thump card was all they'd need for then on out.

The rumble of a flyer's engine was heard coming in their direction, a heavy-duty one from the noise it produced, and all three Decepticons looked towards the sky.

"We didn't know you ordered backup, Lord Starscream." Breakdown commented.

"That is because I did not! Must be those pesky Makers again. Why Lord Megatron was so interested in them I have no idea!"

Silverbot flew overhead and came lower, doing a barrel roll before transforming to bipedal mode and landing with enough momentum to create craters beneath his pedes. Snarled at them. He didn't like getting violent but a little showmanship was good enough to scare the wits out of a few Decepticons.

"You didn't tell us anything about a triple-changer!" Knock Out turned to their leader and resisted the urge to strangle some sense into him.

"Yes… well… I, erm…" The seeker was too embarrassed to admit he'd never gotten a good look at all the makers, only from over the shoulder of the former Lord.

"Who's Breakdown?" Silverbot kept his expression neutral, although he wanted to chuckle maybe just a little bit. He really was pulling a Mayhem on that one.

Starscream and Knock Out pointed at the blue and orange mech with no hesitation, leaving him to bear the brunt of whatever was to come.

"So… sweet aft, was it?"

"What?" All three Decepticons were confused at the words that came from the triple-changer.

"My sister. I believe that's what you referred to her as."

The Decepticon medic looked at his partner, his optics wide in disbelief. "Out of all the femmes on this wretched mud ball, you had to try your luck at the triple-changer's sister?!" He bellowed.

"I didn't… I mean, I-" Breakdown was having trouble finding whatever words could fit on that situation words. He was a fearless mech that had seen many battles but triple-changers were another class entirely, he still remembered the one that had dominated the arena before Lord Megatron. Come to think of it, the one in front of him looked awfully like Victory too.

"Save it." He didn't want to hear it either way. "I'm here to teach you a little lesson about personal space, so try to retain some of it, will you?" Silverbot smiled, then let out a battle cry and charged forward.

"Keep him busy!" Starscream went to collect the rest of the energon while leaving his underlings at the mercy of the triple-changer.

The two Decepticons looked at each other with panic but could do nothing more than dodge the servo that implanted itself into the ground just where they'd been. Knock Out took out his energon prod, voltage turned up to the max, and attempted to shove it in Silverbot's neck cables but got backhanded and sent crashing into one of the ruins nearby. Breakdown was not so lucky, as soon as he deployed his hammer the same servo that had struck his partner punched him into the ground, knocking the wind out of him, and then the digits spread out in, ready to dig into his frame.

Silverbot was ready to do something he'd never done before, all for the safety of the others, when he was struck by a ray of blue energy that began to sap the strength out of him. He struggled to remain upright, feeling his knee joints ready to give in at any moment, but refused to give in.

Starscream smirked as he watched the triple-changer succumb to the Harvester. One of Cybertron's deadliest classes would be offlined by him, certainly cementing once and for all his lordship over the Decepticons. "You're a big one, this should take a while."

With a snarl of defiance, Silverbot powered though the continued removal of his life-fluid and, with paced breaths, straightened up to his full height and headed towards the seeker, looking as if he was barely being affected. It was time to put the so-called mythical endurance of his type to the test.

"What are you doing?" Starscream began stepping back in fear, optics wide in disbelief. "No! Stay back, monster!"

Lunging for the Harvester the taller mech held it between their servos, Starscream having let go as soon as he'd made contact, and crushed it, causing it to power down for good. He smiled at the terrified Decepticon before punching him bellow the chassis, strapping the seeker against a wall and causing him to even spit out energon. Without looking Silverbot threw the Harvester great deal away behind himself where seconds later it exploded, creating an explosion of blue flames that made him seem all the more terrifying.

Removing the servo pinning Starscream to the wall Silverbot let the seeker fall in a heap and turned his back to him, facing the other two mechs that were getting onto their pedes and gazing at him in terror.

"Anyone else want to have a go at the monster?" He asked in a low voice.

Before they could even process the words a groundbridge opened up the hill and both Autobots and Makers came charging though and began taking shots at them. They were already unprepared to deal with a triple-changer but with even more bots against them it was time for a quick getaway.

"Drive!" Knock Out shouted to his partner.

Both Decepticons turned to their alt-modes and sped away without a second though, leaving the self-proclaimed Lord to fend for himself. Said Lord watched his underlings abandon him to deal with all their enemies alone and, powering through the pain reverbing though his frame, transformed and flew away, engines working overtime to make his escape as fast as possible and avoid any pursuit should it follow.

The others halted their attack and came close to the triple-changer who let out a relieved breath and fell to his knees, prepared to meet the ground after his encounter with the Harvester. Mayhem and Bulkhead held him before that happened and put his arms around their shoulders.

"So, defend my honor, did you?" Mayhem chuckled and rested her helm against her brother's.

Silverbot chuckled. "Overall, I can almost certainly say yes. Are you mad, because you're a strong femme who can stand up for herself?"

"About that? No. That you came without me? Yes. You pulled a real me, didn't you?" She winked and stuck her glossa out.

Yes, had. And, judging from the look his Carrier was giving him, he'd have a lot of explaining to do, but, for now, he only wanted a good recharge. He'd nearly offlined a Decepticon that day, but it didn't make him a monster, only worried about his family… right?

* * *

 **AN: Another episode down, remember to R &R and if you have questions leave a review or PM me :)**


	22. The hunt is on

**AN: ONE WEEK! I am so sorry about this lack of activity, I can´t stress how much I wanted to give you the two chapters but I just couldn´t find motivation to write being so tired as I am, but enjoy this extra-long chapter as a sort of bonus. I hope you can forgive me and, honestly, I can´t be too sure if the next chapter won´t also be posted a week from now on.**

* * *

"I really despise what they've done with the place."

The forest looked horrid in Airachnid's optics. Everywhere she looked it was a drab atmosphere with a mostly graying palette, some greenery colors sprinkled about in the ground, making her want to metaphorically purge her tank's contents. The worst part were the widely spaced trees that, while tall, offered little to no cover for someone her size with those thin trunks, making her feel too exposed out in the open forest.

Being on stage was one thing, there were Makers everywhere, be that on stage or among the patrons, but alone (not technically but it felt like it) with an Autobot in an alien planet? That only dug up bad memories. At least they hadn't been sent to search some cave Solus knows where. Airachnid dug tunnels but didn't enjoy being underground for extended periods of time on account of her _accident_.

"It's an organic forest, not a hab-suite." Arcee didn't take her optics off the scouter as they kept walking but still couldn't help but roll them. This was supposed to somehow build trust between them in case they needed to work together in future missions but the differences between them were more than evident.

"I would be better off in one. Couldn't Silverbot have come instead of me?"

"Solarflare decided to ground him for a few days, or have you forgotten?"

"I swear that femme still hasn't realized he's an adult." Whispered Airachnid while looking up above, getting a better view of the grey skies. Even the sun didn't want to show up there, not surprising her in the least. "Fine. Doomsday, then."

"What do you have against field missions? You're clearly a good fighter." The two-wheeler couldn't even remember the spider-femme volunteering for something as basic as patrol, preferring to conveniently disappear in the webs she'd laid up above in the ceiling.

"It's not so much the surroundings, more the company I'm forced to keep."

"You sure know how to make someone feel special."

"Some of my past experiences with Autobots weren't exactly… pleasant." Had they been she'd have ended up in the Elite guard's science division like she'd planned and most likely offlined during the war. In a way there were some things that had worked out better in the end, as unlikely at it seemed. What was that saying humans had about closed doors and open windows again? "I prefer to keep my distance if possible."

"Yet you feel the need to make a move on Ratchet almost every day." Arcee pointed out.

Seeing the spider-femme flirt with the Autobot medic never ceased to be anything less than watching a highway collision, horrifying but impossible to look away due to its nature. Almost all of her sentences included some sort of implicit actions or double-entendres but Ratchet refused to give her the time of day and add fuel to the fire, preferring to ignore the Maker until she gave up and went away.

Airachnid shrugged, no evidence of regret in her faceplates. "I like to watch mechs squirm. Beautiful and deadly, it used to be my thing back then. I could take a look at a mech and figure out exactly what was his type but my radar seems to have rusted out after so long."

"How did you end up like that?" The question emerged from Arcee's voicebox before she could help herself. Ever since her first conversation with Silverbot the curiosity burned in the back of her processor. If Doomsday hadn't been at fault for the multi-legged 'upgrade' but an accident instead what sort of substance could alter a bot's frame to that extent?

Missing the meaning of Arcee's question, Airachnid didn't give it much thought. "What, in my line of work? Where else in Cybertron would someone who looked like this be able to earn shanix and be treated fairly?"

"No. I meant like…" Oh Primus, her attempt at getting her questions answered wasn't as awkward as she'd though it would be. It was a lot worse. "That." With a graceless gesture to the spider-femme's frame Arcee was swiftly met with narrowing optics and a dangerous snarl along with a sharp digit pointing in her direction.

"None of your business."

"Made something you shouldn't, didn't you?"

"I said it was none of your business!"

"I'll take that as a yes." Whispered the blue femme before her scanner started beeping and she took a closer look at the readings. "That's odd. Ratchet's satellite scans were accurate but subterranean energon deposits don't cause this type of surge."

They kept going ahead, this time at a faster pace, and came across something they hadn't expected to witness. The soil was ripped apart, torn in two by a wide sulk that stretched deeper into the forest, leaving an unmistakable trail of splintered trees around the entire area.

"Someone crash-landed here."

"Please let it be Soulcrash, I could use the distraction." Airachnid crossed her arms and sneered at the two-wheeler. Her past was right where it should be, buried under a lot of high-grade and too many ´jobs´ to count… She´d offline a random bot for just another cube of high-grade… Maybe… Definitely… Maybe…

Arcee didn´t pay much attention to the spider-femme. "Just stay close and on your guard." She continued forward at an even faster pace, becoming almost surprising she hadn´t transformed to her alt-mode and sped off.

Airachnid shrugged and used her spider legs to keep up with the Autobot. Things were getting interesting, there could be a new ally, enemy or both in that ship. That is, if it was intact after the crash landing.

They remained low and used the trees for cover as they got closer to their target, at least the blue femme did, the other settled for going at a slower pace and keeping an optic open to avoid any surprises.

The vessel was a dark color, marred by several lines of silvery gashes, both deep and shallow, and sizably bigger than Wheeljack's ship, big enough to carry more than a servofull of Cybertronians. It was impossible to tell if it was Autobot, Decepticon or neither, the latter category possessed individuals that varied greatly on their moral stances and view of the war, so the friend or foe options were still wide open.

Arcee deployed one of her blasters and motioned for the spider femme to remain in position while she went closer to investigate the spaceship. The two-wheeler steadied herself before jumping in front of the open entrance, ready to shoot any hostiles, but saw no one. Taking another quick look around she went in, careful not to make noise.

Airachnid watched as the Autobot disappeared into the ship and crossed her arms, tapping her digits impatiently, although she was beginning to get on edge about the unnerving silence. Human forests should at least have birds but not one could be seen nor heard the closer they got to the crash site, so either she was more terrifying than she remembered or something else was out there. Before she could ponder about the situation any further Arcee came out looking very queasy and ready to slump over.

"What's the matter? The crew all mangled or something like that?" Airachnid walked over and examined the femme, waving a servo in front of her optics. Was she shaking?

Arcee didn't hear the Maker in front of her, or register the purple servo in front of her faceplates. She only kept reliving the memories being restrained, spark-wrenching fear, a menacing green mech and her partner… Tailgate.

* * *

 _Tailgate never stopped screaming as she was forced to watch her partner be disassembled, the memories haunting her as long as her spark still pulsed. She had been supposed to be next but survived where he had perished._

* * *

Snapping out of her trance, Arcee steadied herself and attempted to calm herself. "I know who this ship belongs to." She then commed the others, knowing they´d likely need backup. "Arcee to base, I need a groundbridge ASAP."

"Whose ship is it?" The spider-femme had no idea what was going on.

"Base, do you read?" Nothing but static greeted the blue Autobot. "Scrap. Comm link's dead. The ship has got to be transmitting a high-frequency scrambler pulse." She resisted the urge to yell out expletives and went to investigate the nearby vegetation for tracks. "Be on your guard, this bot will make you suffer before he offlines you." She found that the nearby trees had scratch marks that went off in one direction.

"Explain. Now." Airachnid was getting on edge about the femme´s actions. From what she could gather the bot driving the ship was dangerous enough for them to require backup but everything else was a blank. What did they look like? Were they a Decepticon or something else? Did they use short or long-range combat?

Arcee didn't pay attention to the Maker´s questions and went ahead deeper into the forest, following the trail of snapped and trampled vegetation. She took out her blaster once again but let it drop to her side when a tree trunk with a clean cut caught her optic. That precision, no splinters, it had to be _him_.

* * *

 _She had been running through a devastated Cybertron, escaping enemy fire, and contacted Delta team for the rendezvous coordinates. Tailgate, her partner before Cliffjumper, had answered and, even though they were in the middle of a war, they still found the time to banter and joke- her sense of direction versus his aim. He was just about to give her the coordinates when something struck her and everything went black._

 _When she'd woken up she was suspended in the air by energy cuffs keeping her arms apart and her legs were bound as well. Struggling hadn't helped in the slightest and when that odious mech came strutting about, bragging about how easily he'd managed to capture her, she knew it wouldn't end well._

* * *

"Seriously, what-!"

"Shhhh!" Arcee shushed the spider-femme. "He's close."

"Who?!" Airachnid was getting closer and closer to losing her patience, wanting to sink her claws into something to get the frustration out in case she did not get her answers.

"Stay behind in case he decides to make a run for the ship." Arcee darted forward, leaving behind an even more confused and frustrated Maker.

* * *

He´d been passing near the backwater planet known as Earth when he picked up on Decepticon radio chatter about a group of Autobots giving them some trouble. Being the helpful mech he was (always for a price, of course) he decided to stop by and try his luck at bringing in an Autobot or two. Decepticons had a reputation of paying well for captured enemies and if they were carrying intelligence, depending on the value, their price could even double.

The possibility of adding one more specimen to his private collection was also very enticing to the bounty hunter. He´d decimated countless species in search of the perfect individual among the masses to put on display and used the less-than-optimal ones to make a few shanix on the black market. How much would humans go for in a trade, he wondered.

Spotting a tent with a native life-form hiding away inside, he could not contain his excitement at the commencing of another job.

"Trophy case or dissection, I wonder?"

The bounty hunter moved in on the unsuspecting camper but, before he could strike, a blue blur jumped him, sending both Cybertronians careening down a hill. They struggled with each other until they hit a rock wall in a clearing at the bottom, Arcee being the one bearing the brunt of the hit with her back, and the mech promptly picking himself off the floor along with her.

The two bots sized each other up and the bounty hunter proceeded to laugh upon recognizing her.

"Arcee, how nice of you to welcome me. Small universe, isn't it?" He asked, smiling as if he didn´t have a care in the universe.

The femme clenched her servos and her expression morphed into one of loathing. "Too small, Lockdown."

"I see you still remember me."

"Decepticon scum like you are a shanix a dozen, don´t flatter yourself."

"You know I'm a bounty hunter, I work for the highest bidder and all that. Too bad for you Autobots that Decepticons aren't afraid to spend a few shanix to get work done. "

"I got a look at your souvenir case. Wasn't enough for you to take Cybertronians apart so now organics too?"

Walking into the spaceship the first thing she´d seen were green containers lining the walls of the main hallway with various preserved organic species and, secured in-between the vats, various mods from bots Lockdown had likely offlined. It was as if the ship was itself a shrine to his depraved achievements, a way for him to show whoever was unlucky enough to find themselves inside that there was no way out.

"Oh, you got a look at my trophies?" Lockdown sounded proud of all his ´accomplishments´, almost flattered Arcee had brought them up. "Over the eons I grew bored, you see, of hearing the same screams and harvesting the same mods. They all began to look and sound the same and ever since the war ended payments slowed down, so I decided to expand my business. Even if I have to go through all the population I always get the perfect specimen."

"I'll stop you before that happens!"

Arcee charged at the bounty hunter but he merely raised his arm and shot a sticky substance out of a wrist device, trapping her against the rock wall and pinning her arms against her sides.

"What?!" It looked and felt like the familiar material she'd see every time she looked up inside the base. How could that be?!

"You like it? Went to Archa Seven while tracking a rouge Decepticon and found these organic creatures with lots of legs. They reminded me of a ladybot friend I had back in the day when I was still studying under the old rusbucket who was so fond of that ´processor over matter´ nonsense. Anyways, I went through a good deal of them before I managed to make this here piece of equipment."

While he was gloating, the bounty hunter hadn´t noticed the spider-femme that quietly positioned herself behind him or when she´d jumped in the air, but he definitely felt the kick to his helm that sent him rolling into the ground and against a tree. Quickly getting to his pedes he once more prepared to take care of whatever Autobot had the audacity of attacking while his back was turned but Lockdown was frozen in place as soon as his optics landed on his attacker.

"I told you to stay behind!" Arcee yelled, struggling even harder, but she was still not able to break the webbing, as her blades were pointing towards her body instead of outside. If she attempted to cut through the bonds she would surely lose too much energon and have no way of properly patching herself up.

The Maker smirked and showed off her fangs. "If I went back to base without you after this the others would never let that go!"

Lockdown, who´d finally processed who he was looking at, could not wipe the surprised look from his faceplates. "Airachnid?" All that time she´d likely been on that organic planet and he was on the other side of the universe on bounty jobs as he searched for her.

"What? Do I know you?" She kept her servos splayed open facing the mech but, for some reason, he didn´t seem too keen to fight her.

"Be careful! Lockdown is more dangerous than he seems!" Arcee could not help but remember what had happened to her… to Tailgate.

* * *

 _Lockdown wondered how the Autobot femme had managed to survive by fighting her way through Decepticon ranks and evade whatever enemies were left with such standard gear. There wasn't much he could use there, he already had enough 'spare parts', but she did have some intel about the next attack's coordinates. Lockdown knew she´d never reveal the information willingly, they never did, but he provided a very persuasive method to make her talk._

 _Tailgate was dragged in by a pair of Vehicons and strapped to a medical table in front of her. Her partner was still conscious, he´d said her name but couldn´t focus his optics on anything. A table filled with all sorts of tools emerged from the ground next to him and the bounty hunter promised if she didn´t reveal what she knew Tailgate would be taken apart right in front of her._

… _She didn´t know. SHE DIDN´T KNOW!_

 _He didn´t believe her. Not when she repeated herself. Not when she begged to torture her instead. Not when she screamed for him to stop mixed with Tailgate´s screams as he was picked apart until he offlined from the unbearable pain, his energon cables shut with surgical clamps to make him survive long enough._

* * *

"Lockdown? No…" Airachnid had to stop herself from lowering her servos in surprise. She´d met a mech with that designation long ago, back when she´d been no more than a rookie in the main ´workforce´ of the Maker district.

After she was cursed with het current form she had managed to sneak back into Cybertron on a rescue vessel with great difficulty (getting caught would have ended with her offline for sure) and reach the only place she knew she´d be welcome at. One look at her hideous spider-like appearance and any other bot would have either ran away or turned her in to be studied and dissected by the Council´s scientists.

She had been lucky enough to have made friends in the district, Solarflare and Doomsday, who vouched for her inclusion into their community and offered to help her out settling in. Airachnid cast aside her previous designation and took on a new one but she´d also sought to cast aside her original persona and carve out another and it was an ordeal of trial and error before she was done. A small number of bots had served as guinea pigs for her to test out her techniques, one in particular becoming quite attached to her before on one occasion having been forcibly dragged out by his mentor to never be seen again.

Until that moment.

"Surprised?" Lockdown relished in the way the Maker took in his departed appearance from his pupil days in the Cyber-Ninja Corps. He´d done extensive modifications after becoming a bounty hunter and barely recognizable to someone unaware of his past.

Regaining her composure the spider-femme attempted to remain unfazed and put on her usual air of arrogance. "I have to say, quite a departure from the cyber ninja look. Then again, you were never one to behave according to the rules."

"And you… working with an Autobot. Now that´s unexpected. Why don't you ditch the bucket of bolts and join me? We could travel the universe, just the two of us and a whole lot of shanix to collect."

"How about… no!" She took Lockdown by surprise with a few shots while she took off on a dash across the clearing. The picture painted by the mech might have been tempting once upon a time but not anymore.

Lockdown dodged the attack and retaliated with some of his own. "So, that's how it's gonna be, huh?!" He attempted to gain some terrain but it seemed she was decided in keeping him at long range. Smart, he thought, Airachnid still remembered who he´d studied under and that he hadn´t been too shabby of a student.

They continued exchanging shots, Airachnid jumping up to the trees with the help of her spider limbs and using the aerial agility to her advantage but the mech kept dodging everything she threw his way. She´d need to take him down before a stray shot hit Arcee and she ended up getting a talk down from Flare and (eugh) Prime.

One of her servos was still trained on Lockdown while the other shifted to hit a tree behind the spot where he was headed and it fell down just at the right moment when he was passing underneath it. The bounty hunter had to dodge or be pinned under the falling tree and Airachnid used the distraction to jump down, getting close enough to see his optics widen at the realization of his mistake, and covered Lockdown´s face in a layer webbing before punching him, knocking the mech onto his back a good deal away, immobile and seeming very much defeated.

She smirked and placed her servos on her hips, leaning forward to go and deliver the finishing blow. "And now, for the-"

"Get me out of here!" Arcee cut off Airachnid´s murderous thoughts with an angry cry.

The spider-femme rolled her optics but opted to comply. "…Fine." She needed to convince the Autobot not to divulge her connection to Lockdown to the others and offlining him without a care in the world would likely damage her character. Turning around she made her way to the two-wheeler but fell forward in pain when a shot hit her back.

Lockdown was sitting up with the web torn of his faceplates and was smiling at the injured femme. "Sorry, beautiful. You forgot I never miss a target." He picked himself up and began walking towards his old flame, unsure on what to do with her. The Autobot, however, he would certainly contact the Decepticons and try to get a good price for her.

Airachnid clenched her dentas and snarled, her back hurt like there was no tomorrow but there was no way she´d let herself get caught. With a pained cry she turned to drill mode and went underground, leaving Arcee alone with Lockdown. Cooperation was important, as a Maker she knew that, but between herself and an Autobot she would always come first in any situation. Always.

"Airachnid!" Arcee yelled when she saw the femme disappear, leaving only a tunnel opening behind. She´d been abandoned but, for some reason, she wasn´t too surprised.

Airachnid was the lone wolf, the wild card, the one who would go out of her way not to be seen most of the day. The other Makers were used to her personality and even claimed she was always very sociable, the presence of the Autobots being the cause of her more reserved persona.

"Making yourself hard to catch, I see. I do love a good chase." Lockdown closed his optics and felt the earth beneath his pedes, searching for the only disturbance large enough to be detected. He smirked. There. "I´m sorry to leave you hanging… well, not really." He turned his back to his prisoner and began walking away. "But I have a spark to catch."

"No! Get back here!" Arcee struggled with her bonds but came no closer to loosening them. "AIRACHNID, YOU TRAITOR!"

* * *

 **AN: How was it? Were any of you expecting our favorite TFA bounty hunter ;)? On another note I** **think the quality in my writing dropped a noticeable amount (due to my extended work schedule these two weeks) I really need to know what you all think, be it on the chapter itself or the story so far.**


	23. A fine line

**AN: Funny story, this chapter was supposed to go up on the 3rd but I had a surprise visit to the hospital on the weekend that delayed the whole thing.**

 **Now, seriously speaking, I need reviews people, I have ONE person that keeps this story going with their reviews, Dragonlver22, and they´ve been really helpful and even heavily influenced this chapter during our talks. It´s getting harder and harder to keep a regular updating schedule when it looks like there´s a good amount of views but no one says anything. Do you like this fic? hate it? What would you change? DO you have any requests or suggestions for future chapters? Please, let me know.**

 **Also, Rowena_Bensel, don´t think I´ve forgotten about you, I still appreciate your reviews inspiring Lockdown instead of Airachnid in Arcee´s past. And a shout-out to OPIv2 as well for being by earliest reviewer so far!**

* * *

Airachnid emerged from her tunnel behind one of the bigger tree she could find, her pain threshold having reached its limit with her spider limbs causing her injury to ache too much to keep going underground. She bit her servo hard enough to draw energon, attempting to silence the scream daring to emerge from her voice box, hoping the pain there would also help to distract from the bigger one.

Her cooling fans were in overdrive, the fear of having been caught unaware always having been present ever since the mistake that cost her old life. It wasn't often a client mistook the 'affection' the Makers sold for actual feelings, but when it happened sometimes it was as easy as being banned (and maybe a well-placed punch) although, in other occasions… suffice to say some Autobot helms hand rolled behind the scenes to keep the district in order.

Her client's faceplates had long ago began to look the same in her optics, save for a certain senator and, most importantly at the moment, her current stalker. They'd met when they were both rookies in their areas, her as an 'entertainer' and him as a cyber-ninja. He'd wandered into the district merely out of curiosity, taking advantage of the fact his Master was away to explore the area that, according to the older students, had ensnared a few ex-cyber-ninjas and even some of the Council members. Airachnid couldn't remember much of how they'd actually met, she recalled he'd been taken aback by her appearance at first but something happened to make him a regular for a long time after.

The cyber-ninja kept coming back to the spider-femme´s embrace again and again throughout his stay at the Dojo, spending shanix she had no idea where he got them from but it wasn´t her place to ask either, a lot of mechs did not take kindly to being coerced into divulging such information. Everything had been going smoothly, they had long talks with a few ´intimate´ sessions in-between them but, like everything good (and EXTREMELY profitable), it came to an end.

* * *

 _Lockdown loved how Airachnid made him feel. She would listen to everything he had to say without judgement or that pretentious air he so often got from his master. It was as if she understood how really felt and, instead of telling him to calm down and think about pointless things, let him be who he really was. No matter how hard he trained and proved himself in every challenge he´d only managed to shut up those pretentious students who´d fancied themselves better than him, as long as he didn´t fully master the whole ´processor over matter´ gibberish Lockdown came to realize he´d never be enough for that old bucket of rusted bolts._

 _Because of his seemingly never-ending flow of shanix from hunting down lawbreakers and turning them in for a profit when his Mater´s back was turned he was able to fuel his secondary lifestyle, immersed in an illusion he´d lost control of long ago. The life of a cyber-ninja was a lonely one, they were expected to fully master their emotions and devote themselves completely to securing Autobot secrets and become a sort of secondary line of defense after the Elite Guard. Other Cybertronians looked at them with wide optics, wishing to be just like them, but their reality was a bleak one filled with restrictions and rules, including personal involvement with a partner._

 _The mech had long ago stopped caring about the set of rules he swore to abide by when he became a student to join the Cyber-Ninja Corps, any dreams of honor, glory or even recognition by his superiors had faded when he met the most entrancing creature he´d ever laid his optics on. He´d walked towards the precipice of infatuation faster and faster and, just as he reached the top, jumped without ever thinking twice, letting himself get lost in an abyss he had no idea he´d be lost in for the next millennia and more._

 _So, there they were, sitting on a very comfortable plush seat in their usual private room, with her on his lap, caressing his chest, letting him talk about any and everything. Airachnid occasionally placed a soft kiss on his faceplates as he spoke and he held her closer in turn, everything outside that room taking a meaningless tone. It felt liberating to have someone look after him instead of being told to keep trying and improving pointless techniques that were as real as sparkeaters._

 _There was nothing that could ever break his quiet of mind when they were like that._

" _So, this is where you have been sneaking off to." The voice of an older mech startled the Cybertronians out of their seats._

 _Lockdown stood up faster than the optic could see, causing Airachnid to yelp and fall undignified to the floor with a scowl. He turned to the side to see the last mech he´d expected to find in the Maker district and quickly averted his gaze to the floor. "Master Yoketron!" Oh Cybertron bellow him, he was in deep trouble._

" _Do you think I would be so blind as to no become suspicious of your increasing escapades? At first you were still the same disciplined mech I took in but now… Imagine my surprise to find my best pupil coming here to cavort in this den of immorality, cycle after cycle with not a unit of shame to show for it every time you step into our sacred Dojo." It was easy to see the shame in the Autobot´s faceplates, both in his student and himself._

 _Yoketron had taken in Lockdown at an early age, the young bot at the time having been on the verge of being expelled from the academy due to his refusal to work in any sort of team and maybe having had a violent run-in with a superior (anyone asked would deny something ever happened). All off-record at Yoketron´s request, of course. Lockdown´s fighting prowess flourished under the guidance of the older mech, quickly climbing his way to the place of top student, but all the sudden might he gained did not surface alone, the desire for more taking a hold of him as well. Soon enough, while the dedicated student was still there, that need became more and more noticeable until Yoketron could no longer will himself turn a blind eye. He just had not expected this to have been the cause of his student´s distraction._

" _If it's so immoral then why is at least half your council making regular visits? Shockwave, Ratbat, Decimus, even Dai Atlas has shown up around here and we all know who taught him." Airachnid had picked herself up and was examining her armor for any scuffs or dents from her fall. She did not appear to care the mech in front of her was very likely one of the most dangerous in all of Cybertron if he so chose to be._

" _Airachnid, stay out of this." Lockdown warned the femme, still unsure on how to explain his situation. It was what it looked like, no one could deny it, and he had no idea what to do next._

" _Suit yourself, you time's up anyway, I´ve got two in one after this."_

" _How can you not see it? Can't you understand what you have been debasing yourself with?" Yoketron gestured to the spider-femme, who made a face at being talked down. "She merely cares about what you have to offer and when you can no longer provide it you'll be left with nothing. Please, come back to the path of enlightenment, I forgive you."_

" _You? Forgive me?" For some reason those words cut deep into Lockdown´s spark. Now that he thought about it, what was there to be ashamed of? He´d done nothing wrong. He was the best student in line to become a part of the Cyber-Ninja Corps in a long time, he´d trained so hard up to that point just to impress the one who´d rescued him from a life thrown away and the moment he decided he wanted something just for himself it was a problem, a mistake to be fixed? "I worked my aft off just to show you how good I was, tried my best to impress you, but the one time my spark strayed from the so-called ´path of righteousness´ you expect me to give up the one I love?"_

" _What?!" Airachnid was caught off-guard by that one, but more surprised than scared by that point. She had to fix that situation and fast, berating herself for having been so blind would come later, from herself and the others. "The burnout may be a pain in the aft but he's right. No shanix, no service, no feelings. I don´t know what you expected from me but love is definitely not on the price list."_

 _Those words had felt like being on the receiving end of an electric shock directly into Lockdown´s sparkchamber. It felt as if his entire system had shut down for a nano-second before booting back up in the most painful of ways. "But… we talked so much…" They´d shared secrets… no, he´d shared his secrets while she smiled and encouraged him further. His master came up and put a comforting servo on his shoulder but Lockdown didn't register it, not with the numbness crawling deep in his frame._

" _Yes, because you paid for it." There was no sympathy in her voice anymore, only cold detachment._

" _I thought that we… you… there was something between us."_

" _If we'd really gotten to know each other you'd know I would never bond with an Autobot." With those words Airachnid headed to a secondary door reserved for the workers and swiped her servo through a scanner to unlock it. "Sorry, sweetspark, but you've never known me to begin with."_

 _Not once did she look back. Her spark had been shattered once, she knew exactly what it looked like._

* * *

Airachnid knew she should´ve made herself clearer when Lockdown´s visits became more frequent, but he was a good source of revenue and she was eager to show the other Makers she could work and repay them in the fullest of terms. It didn´t help she had been a rookie when she took him as a client, her ´new and improved persona´ still in the works, the remnants of that sweet and kind femme she´d once been taking over with certain clients. Lockdown, unfortunately, had been one of those and, even though she could see how deep he was sinking into those false hopes, there had been no attempts to stop him. Back then he held so many uplifting ideals, willing to see the best in everyone and try his hardest to succeed, so she´d ignored the signs of change, the old part of her clinging to the idea he was just like _him_.

No! She had to snap out of it and stop feeling guilty! It hadn't been her fault his blinded processor mistook bought affection for the real deal and apparently developed a sort of obsession with her. Mechs who couldn´t take a hint even when thrown at them were the problem, not her and everyone else. Makers had such a limited selection of occupations forced onto them by the morally bankrupt Cybertronian society who cared no more for them than except to pacify a part of the population who resorted to their services.

"Ever since that day I decided to make enough shanix to make you love me but it turned out I did have a knack for bounty hunting. The best of both worlds, am I right?"

The bounty hunter´s words snapped Airachnid out of her thoughts, making her spark jump in fear, not that she´d ever admit it, when she noticed nightfall was already upon them. She must´ve been lost in her memories far longer than she´d realized. Why was it that her past was decided to chase after her, no matter the before and after?!

Anyway, she was in no shape to engage in a fight, not with the damage to her back incapacitating her spider legs, curtesy of the cheap shot by that filthy retro-rat. With no chance to defeat Lockdown her only choice was to actually run with her two legs, but to where?

A servo suddenly grabbed her arm, making Airachnid yell out in surprise and face the mech chasing her though the darkening forest. She was spun around, an arm resting on her neck, the pressure not too tight but making itself known, and pressed against the bounty hunter´s frame.

"Found you, sweetspark. You sure are making yourself hard to get." Lockdown gazed at the trapped femme struggling in his arms and grinned. It felt intoxicating to be the one holding all the power and he did not intend on giving that up.

With a defiant hiss Airachnid did not hesitate and managed to sink her fangs onto one of her captor´s digits, making him let put a pained scream at the acid corroding his frame and loosen his grip enough for her to force her way out. She swept her leg under him and he fell onto his back in another bout of pain before being kicked with more force than expected, crashing into a tree not far away.

The Maker broke into a panicked run, heading to wherever her jumping spark lead her to, leaving behind a mech screaming her designation in anger. There were stories, few but they existed, of one-sided romances that ended in tragedy and she refused to become another cautionary tale for the next generation, if there ever were to be one.

The trees all looked the same to her, no definite path she could follow but even if there was one with no forms of communication with the others it would be impossible to call for backup. What she wouldn´t give for Doomsday to have come along, even while debilitated the two of them put together could take down any enemy.

In Airachnid´s mad dash for freedom she found herself back at Lockdown´s ship and, at the sight of the damned vessel, dared to look behind. He was definitely still on her trail and freezing on the spot wouldn´t help. Racing to the entry Airachnid paused before her pedes could touch the metal. There were bound to be good weapons inside capable of offlining him for good but what else could be hiding up there? Falling into a trap was not on her plans so storming the ship was out of the question but there was still the matter of taking down her pursuer.

It wouldn´t take long for Lockdown to catch up with her so the spider-femme racked her processor for any ideas. It was starting to feel like one of those human horror movies Mayhem liked so much but it wasn´t- Wait! That was it! Dumb as it may be it could work. With a final look back to the cluster of trees behind her she picked up a rock and threw it so it would bounce off the metal floor inside and dashed for a hiding spot outside against the black metal, hoping it would help in her camouflage.

Lockdown arrived just in time to hear the echoes coming from inside his ship and miss the femme hiding against it. He smirked, thinking it would all be over sooner than he´d expected. His ship was a literal maze filled with traps designed not to kill but to painfully trap anyone who dared to wander through the halls and attempt to either steal from him or make a dash for freedom.

"If you wanted a tour, all you needed to do was ask." The green mech spoke loudly as he walked inside with a confident stride. "We´ll be spending a lot of time together from now on, it´s only natural you get to know your new home."

Airachnid let out a low sigh although she wasn´t in the clear just yet. Clambering though the trench left by the ship´s landing she attempted to think of a way to get rid of the obsessed bot when her optics caught onto something blue dripping from one of the sides of the vessel. When getting closer to examine her discovery the Maker was pleased to see it was energon leaking though a hole, probably from one of the main fuel lines. It was time to end it for good this time. She broke into a run, getting as further away from the ship before attempting to pull a Mayhem of the highest caliber.

Inside the ship Lockdown heard the telltale fast-paced steps of a Cybertronian making a run for it and turned swiftly to chase after his love. Smart femme, he thought, fooling a bounty hunter as seasoned as him was a hard thing to do but she´d almost managed to pull it off. Almost. Just as he stepped outside a blaster went off and there had been no time to think before an explosion engulfed the ship and flung him away with a great amount of force.

There was pain, a lot of it, as he fell to the ground, optics closed but he knew his ship was no more than a pile of broken flaming metal at that point. Love and hate melded together in a blazing inferno just like his prized collection´s items and he would not rest until she was his.

"AIRACHNID!"

* * *

Arcee had tired herself out not long ago. It seemed her fate was sealed to meet Tailgate and Cliffjumper when she became one with the Allspark at the servos of Lockdown. She did not cry but her optics held sadness in them at the thought of meeting her end like that, left alone at the mercy of a despicable bounty hunter by an ally of all things.

"Tailgate, Cliffjumper, I´m sorry." She whispered to herself. "I wasn´t strong enough and let myself get fooled by someone I shouldn´t have trusted to begin with."

"I hope you´re not talking about me, because I´m seriously considering leaving you here to rust."

The Autobot jerked against her bonds to find the femme she´d been referring to appear from within the dark-covered trees. Airachnid had an air of smugness about her, even if she was coveted in scratches and some dirt from being caught in the edge of the explosion she'd caused. With her arms crossed the femme walked with a confident stride towards the two-wheeler, deciding to keep to herself her initial idea of abandoning her. What Arcee didn´t know, would hurt her, after all.

"You came back for me?" It had been hard not to let that those words slip out.

"Why wouldn´t I?" Airachnid examined the webbing and hooked her clawed digits on it, using her acid to help cut though the bonds until her ´partner´ was free. "I hope you won´t mention the part about me being familiar with Lockdown, that should make us even."

Now those words hit Arcee like a lob ball. "For you freeing me? You expect me to lie to the others, to Optimus, for your sake?"

"I wouldn´t call it lying, if they don´t ask you just don´t tell them."

"Lying by omission is still lying, Airachnid. No deal."

Arcee might have not been left behind by the Maker but her attitude was getting on her nerves. After talking to Silverbot she´d attempted to let go of any prejudices held against Makers but this attitude was something outright expected by her old views.

Putting a digit to Arcee´s lips to silence her, Airachnid smiled in a knowing way. "What of I told you something you´d very much like to know?"

Slapping the offending digit aside the Autobot still held her ground and frowned at the attempted bribery. "No."

Ignoring the refusal from the blue femme Airachnid´s smiled widened and she swiftly leaned forward, whispering something into Arcee´s audio receptor that caused her to stiffen and her optics to widen. Perfect reaction, just as expected.

"I trust we have a deal."

Arcee could only slowly nod. It couldn´t be possible… Could it?

* * *

 **AN: Sooo... what did Airachnid tell Arcee? Can any of you guess?** **R &R people, let me know what you think :)**


	24. Sick Mind

**AN: Two weeks and 11.5k words later I give you this monstrosity of a chapter. I´d have went though it faster but I am currently experiencing some mental issues (overworking yourselves is not good) but whatever, it´s 2:30am and I FINISHED IT. Once again a shoutout to** **Dragonlver22 for the inspirations and I hope you enjoy this chapter. A kudos to Lexsequor over on AO3 who wished for bigger chapters! The next episode will also be an extra-long chapter if everything goes as planned ;)**

* * *

"Release the dial!"

"You told me I could help!"

"You are not helping!"

"I was, until you suddenly decided I wasn't qualified!"

"That is because you are most certainly not!"

The whole base stared at the fight for power between an adult Cybertronian and another stuck in the frame of a sparkling. Most of them struggled not to break down in a fit of laughter at the sight of two smaller servos fighting a single bigger one for the control of one of the console's dials, but there were two bots who did not feel the same.

"Doomsday, do something!" Solarflare gestured towards the scene unfolding in front of them.

The Forger only let out a boisterous laugh and pretended to wipe a tear off her optic. "Why? This is hilarious."

Even if Radical didn't share any CNA with her he'd picked up a god deal of habits by merely observing Doomsday's behavior. He'd seen her in various stages, from relatively sober to nearly unaware of reality, before she noticed how her actions shaped the sparkling and did her best to curb the more inappropriate acts in front of the little mech she was raising. But, even if she had improved her act, the damage had been done and some things were never fully shed from Radical's processor, leaving him mostly reasonable and calm the overwhelming majority of the time, but there were occasions where his early upbringing showed itself very clearly. It did not help his Creator didn't do much in those matters.

"It won't be when the equipment gets damaged. Radical is your son, when he misbehaves it's on you." The Maker then turned to the red and blue Autobot in search of support. "Optimus, please help me put a stop to this before someone gets hurt."

Before the mech could respond to Solarflare's concerns Doomsday stepped in. "Yeah, the docbot. I'm with my cute sweetspark on this one. Ratchet wanted help but couldn't take criticism from someone younger than him. Radical's a grown mech, he can make his own decisions. Right, Optimus?"

Caught between two driving forces the Prime hesitated in giving a definite answer. He wanted to put a stop to the mess but he'd have to take a side and, while he knew Ratchet from eons fighting alongside him, Radical had also proven to be quite an adept in using Earth technology. The femmes were each headstrong and set on their views, one from raising two offspring almost on her own and the other from belonging to one of the most discriminated against Cybertronian classes, and it looked like they would not be giving any leeway to meet in the middle.

"Go Rad!" Mayhem brought the attentions on herself by cheering her friend on, raising her arms up in the air and a wide smile on her faceplates.

"Mayhem!" The white and green femme chastised her daughter on encouraging Radical's behavior. It was bad enough his Carrier seemed to give him free reign to do whatever he pleased and, although usually it posed no problem, he possessed that distinctive stubborn nature passed down by the Forger that insisted on showing itself from time to time.

"Go Ratchet!" Another shout was heard, this time from Airachnid, who, as usual, was perched up on the walk above. The other Cybertronians looked quizzically at the spider-femme and she shrugged with a not-so-innocent smirk. "What? I'm just evening the field."

Solarflare brought a servo to her faceplates and suppressed a groan. "Am I the only reasonable Maker here?" She questioned herself and noticed Silverbot preparing to speak before swiftly cutting him off with a glare. "Need I remind you of the Harvester incident?"

"Mom! I said I was sorry!" Pointing towards his sister in an attempt to shift his Carrier's ire he continued complaining. "Mayhem was the one who invaded the Nemesis."

"Yeah I was!" The heavy-duty femme cheered but was quick to receive another disapproving stare that got her to add a rushed second part. "And I'm very sorry!"

It was at that moment that Bumblebee beeped excitedly and pointed at the screen, making everyone else follow his gaze to see something they'd never expected to appear on their radar.

"Is that the…" Ratchet let go of the dial and almost took a step back from surprise. "Optimus, you're going to believe this. I've just pinpointed the location of the Decepticon warship."

"WE'VE just pinpointed the location of the Decepticon warship while experimenting with variable wavelengths." The smaller orange and yellow mech corrected the medbot. It might have been on accident but still, he'd been involved in it so, technically, it was a two bot job.

"Their ship must be experiencing some sort of electromagnetic breach, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to penetrate their cloaking technology."

"With Megatron deceased and the element of surprise…" Arcee brought a fist into her open servo, thoughts of crushing the remainder of the Decepticon army once and for all racing though her processor.

"We could cause some serious damage." Bulkhead finished the two-wheeler's sentence.

"Dibs on Screamer!" That got Mayhem an elbow from Silverbot. "Ouch! Aft!" She complained but decided not to push her luck, at least not with her Carrier right there, opting to cross her arms and huff.

Ratchet began tapping on the console, locking onto the Decepticon warship's signal when another popped up not far from where it was passing by. "Also, on the same frequency… an Autobot emergency beacon." The mech was out of words. First they stumbled upon the Nemesis by mistake and now a distress call they'd never picked up on emerged shortly after.

"The Decepticons can wait, there may be Autobots in distress. Ratchet, Solarflare, I will require your assistance." Optimus gestured towards both bots who, in turn, nodded.

"Can I-"

"There will be no zombies on this mission and I also distinctly remember you refusing all my attempts to teach you anything medical-related." Solarflare swiftly cut off Mayhem while moving towards the groundbridge spot.

"Aww."

* * *

When the three exited the groundbridge they were greeted with the sight of a pale moonlight-illuminated desert and a long-forgotten vessel that looked like it was capable of transporting numerous occupants.

"A crash landing, buried here for centuries." Said Optimus, disillusioned by the fact they hadn't picked up the distress signal earlier. If there we any survivors how long had they been waiting for rescue?

It was a sight that could instill despair into any spark, the ship looked like it was barely holding together, parts of it torn apart or missing entirely, the haphazard landing and exposure to the elements for millennia having done their share of damages. It was hard to tell what the vessel originally would have looked like originally, making it harder to asses when exactly it had left Cybertron or landed or Earth or even if it was meant for war or evacuating survivors.

"I shouldn't feel this relieved, but it looks like it isn't one of our own. Too big." Solarflare her arms closer to her frame, looking away from the wreckage.

They kept walking along towards the ship and Optimus used his blaster to carve them a way in. Inside it was dark, as expected, so the three made use of their imbedded flashlights to illuminate their trek across the worn-down hallways.

Ratchet looked around but saw no signs of recent activity, just as he'd expected, but did not despair just yet. "If they traveled in stasis mode there may be survivors." He wanted to be hopeful, to think that for just one moment their team wasn't the last on left online by the Decepticon's warmongering.

It was at that moment the metal around them shivered under their combined weight and the bots could only find their balance and remain low and hold onto the walls (or was it the floors at that angle?) until the movement ceased. The structure was indeed old and one wrong step could very likely bring the whole thing down. With both trained medics on the mission the only one left to patch them up would be Doomsday and it had been too long since she'd done any extensive work, so it was bet to go one step at the time and be careful.

The door at the end of the hallway did not open on its own when they approached it, as expected from a vessel that had lost power long ago, so the Autobot leader had to pry it open and, luckily, it wasn't rusted so the job was rather easy. They somewhat expected something to happen as soon as those doors opened but everything remained quiet. The human horror movies Mayhem insisted on watching (and forced Bulkhead to watch) in the main room must have been getting to them.

They continued down the hall but did not get the chance to venture much further before coming across a disturbing sight. Offlined Cybertronians, their faceplates contorted in expressions of horror and long grayed frames leaking energon that spread everywhere. It seemed human horror movies did have their merit after all, only none could compare to what they were seeing.

"Don't." Solarflare spread an arm in front of Optimus to stop him when he attempted to approach the corpses of their fallen brethren. "Ratchet, what are your readings?" She asked the medbot who immediately went to scan the nearest corpse. She had a bad feeling about what had went down.

When the scan was completed Ratchet confirmed his fears. "These Autobots didn't perish in the crash. They're displaying the effects of a virus." If he was to go one step further he might even correctly guess which virus. Too many war stories surrounding it flashed through his processor… too many fallen comrades perished before him.

"This is a plague ship." Optimus didn't know what else to say.

"I knew something was off about this. Better just leave and decontaminate without touching anything, maybe call Agent Fowler and have him burry the ship back up. The last thing we need is-" The femme didn't manage to finish her sentence before the ship began shifting once more.

This time the metal did not just shiver, taking an abrupt dip and bringing the three bots down along with it until they were only stopped by the wall. Fortunately, that would be it for the moment, as long as no sudden movements were made, and they got back up to their pedes immediately after, rattled by the scare they just had.

A loud crash brought three pairs of optics up to the ceiling where a previously unseen corpse dangled from a tangle of wires. The shift in the angle of the hallway caused it to come somewhat loose and one of the wires broke, letting it dangle even lower and, almost imperceptibly, leak a few drops of energon… right onto Optimus Prime's optic.

"Gah!" He yelled, clearly distressed, shaking his helm at the overwhelming burn he was beginning to feel.

"NO!" Both medbots yelled, but they knew it was already too late…

* * *

When Ratchet and Solarflare had dragged in a woozy Optimus though a hastily requested groundbridge everyone had gotten out of their way, too confused to make heads or tails of whatever had happened. One minute everything had been just like any other regular day, the other the Autobot leader was being laid down in the medical berth looking like he was ready to meet Primus.

Ratchet scanned Optimus for what might have been the tenth time but the outcome of the diagnosis did not change. The poor bot looked like he was holding onto life by sheer will alone on the medical berth, which might even have been the case. Optics dimming occasionally and a worrying number of graying 'veins' spreading from the infected optic though his faceplates and, if given time, to the rest of his frame.

"Cybonic Plague. It's only infections of contact is made with the energon." He explained to Solarflare who, at that point, had a datapad in hand and pulling up anything pertaining to the disease. "You were lucky enough not to catch it as well, being so close to Optimus at that time it really was short of a miracle."

"What was a plague doing on an Autobot spaceship?" Mayhem felt awkward, unsure on what to do. Her specialty was strength, with a side artistic streak for drawing and painting, the medical field would always remain a mystery to her.

Arcee looked up to the seeker, feeling her apprehension as well. "Its passengers were infected. The virus wiped out millions on Cybertron during the great war."

Many Autobot strongholds had been wiped out in such a way. All it took was for some energon rations to be contaminated and, with constant battles and bleeding, the infection spread through the ranks, sparing no bot. Sometimes there was even the odd infected Decepticon suicide-bomber, charging though their enemies and at the right moment detonating explosive charges and dooming whoever was around them, Autobot or not.

"Cybonic Plague was engineered in the Decepticon's biological warfare program… by Megatron himself." The tone Ratchet took couldn't have been more somber. Only the leader of the Decepticons could have come up with such a devastating weapon that slowly ate away both at the bot's frame and mind.

"You have a cure, don't you?" Asked Radical while gazing down at the ailing Prime. He'd been removed from his usual spot by the controls by Doomsday and place on the walk further up where the elevator was located. He knew there was no chance he'd be infected as longs as he stayed away from any energon but it would be best to comply with his Carrier's worries, he didn't want to cause unnecessary stress during a situation already packed with it.

The Autobot leader let out a raspy breath, most likely requiring all his strength to talk at that point. "No cure." He strained his optics but everything was melding together into a blur that was slowly losing all colors. All his other senses were shutting down and he could fell himself getting weaker by the minute.

"Optimus, please, save your strength." Ratchet couldn't bear to see his friend like that. All those battles and brushes with becoming one with the Allspark just so Optimus could end up dying in a medical berth from a disease of the past.

"Would Megatron create a disease without having a cure? I mean, what if he caught it by accident?" Silverbot chimed in.

"It's not like we can ask Megatron, he's pushing up lugnuts." Bulkhead reminded the triple-changer of the accident that had happened not so long ago.

"Better late than never but even now he manages to frag us over." Doomsday attempted to make light of the situation and looked around for Airachnid since it seemed no one appreciated her attempt.

The spider-femme was partially hidden behind Silverbot, arms crossed and looking down at the floor with an unreadable expression. It dawned on the Forger why she wouldn't want to remain close and yet not distance herself from the events and so the only right thing to do was leave her alone. Not that Doomsday would be able to get Airachnid's attention anyway, she was well in deep though and bursting her little bubble would only bring down a cascade of wrath. Undeserved wrath but painful nonetheless.

Ratchet, who'd also been caught in his thoughts at Silverbot's words suddenly realized something. "In this particular situation we may be able to access the Decepticon database. For the moment we still have a fix on their warship's location." He pointed at the main screen where the Nemesis' signal was still visible.

"Bumblebee come with." Arcee gestured for the scout to follow her before looking back as they walked towards the groundbridge opening site. "Solarflare, you too."

"Me?!"

* * *

It was already well past nightfall when the three Cybertronians came through a groundbridge and found themselves in one of the many hallways of the Nemesis. Arcee and Bumblebee jumped in quietly from within the green vortex, their blasters already drawn in defense, while Solarflare cautiously followed them. Just because she'd stood her ground alongside Ratchet and Optimus during the Terrorcon attack it didn't mean she was eager to fight off hordes of Vehicons that could do more than mindlessly claw at her and in their home turf, just top it off.

"Let's start with the lab." Arcee gave the orders and off they went, stealthily sneaking though enemy territory, weapons drawn and hoping for the best.

It didn't take much for the three bots to come to a turn that would take them to the laboratory but as they were turning the corner the door to where they were heading opened and certain red Decepticon with a rather pristine finish walked out. Bumblebee and Solarflare hid back against the hallway they were coming from while Arcee soundlessly jumped up to hide against one of the ceiling's beams, anticipating the need to take out the Decepticon.

Fortunately, Knock Out was otherwise preoccupied to notice the intruders waiting for him to takes his leave. _Herr Kommandant_ was expecting a report on their 'guest' but, as usual, they would be getting more movement from an exact statue replica at that point. Even Breakdown had given up on buffing and polishing and went out to do… well, something that had to do with something something, the medic hadn't really been paying attention as he'd been examining a particularly hard to remove stain in his chassis.

After the near encounter was successfully avoided they let out a breath of relief continued into the Decepticon laboratory uninterrupted. For some reason no Vehicon was posted anywhere around, both inside or outside, and that made them wonder but, with no time to spare, at that moment it was a detail easily overlooked.

The room was just as expected, enormous and barren of any color save for the purple that decked the insides of the ship, with a more than impressive console that was definitely a lot more sophisticated than one built using Earth tech.

Arcee made use of her experience as an intelligence gatherer to log into the network and search for their 'prize'. "I'm in the network but I have no idea how long Knock out will take to come back." She commed Ratchet while Solarflare took up her side to scan for anything that might have been disguised as something else and Bumblebee examined the room for anything else of importance.

On the other side of the line Ratchet was monitoring Optimus' vitals with increasing concern but there was nothing he could do besides watch them steadily drop. Even if they had all the technology on Cybertron at their disposal it wouldn't have mattered, Megatron had outdone himself in his twisted inventiveness with the Cybonic Plague.

"If it's here I don't see it." Arcee made contact again to deliver the bad news.

"Are you certain, Arcee?"

"I've searched every file, nothing."

"Well, search again! Clearly, you missed something." The Autobot medic was getting desperate. It couldn't end like that, not after all those battles, all those who'd fallen just so their team could survive…

"Ratchet, listen to her!" Solarflare intervened with Ratchet. She knew what he was most likely feeling but someone had to keep him attached to reality. "I'm standing right beside Arcee and there's nothing in here remotely resembling to a virus cure."

On one of the corners of the room Bumblebee was looking around when he stopped in front of an unusual door in the sense that it had a sizeable opening on either side. He didn't mind it much, deeming it to be a storage unit, maybe of Vehicon parts for all he knew, but at the first glance he had though his spark froze for a brief moment before it restarted only for him to take a step back. He wanted to convince himself he was seeing things but the longer he stared the harder it was to deny it was real. He looked back with a worried expression called the femmes over, unsure on what to do with his discovery.

"What is it?!" Arcee snapped at the scout, already on edge because of Ratchet. She motion for Solarflare to take her place while she went over to see what was so important.

Solarflare watched Arcee step away and resisted the urge to comfort the two-wheeler, holding herself in place and kept searching through the database, trying to maintain a positive outlook on a gradually worsening situation. However, it didn't take long for it to go from bad to horrible. The Maker heard Arcee gasp and just before she could move from her place and join the other two bots the door they were looking though opened and there, laying in a medical berth front and center, was the hulking frame of Megatron, a multitude of life-support tubes connected to his very much alive frame.

"He's… alive." Solarflare brought a servo to her faceplates and took an involuntary step back on shaky legs before noticing the Decepticon warlord appeared to be in stasis but that did little to calm her racing spark.

"Who's alive?" Asked Ratchet.

"Megatron." Arcee answered without missing a beat.

Back at the base everyone's optics widened in shock. An explosion of that dimension should have wiped out everything in its path, so how was it the mech had managed to survive and find his way into the Nemesis' medbay? Unicron himself should've had something to do with it, at that point it was the most credible theory anyone could come up with.

"That's not possible." Ratchet was the only one who could bring himself to speak among the Cybertronians.

Mayhem and Silver exchanged worried looks, unnoticeably shifting closer together, worrying over the safety of their Carrier. They knew she could face opponents twice or even triple her size given the right weapons but it had been so long since she'd had a proper battle against an opponent who was experienced in the art of fighting.

Doomsday, however, was the one who seemed to be the most incredulous about the information they'd just been given. The Forger's joints looked like they'd stiffened to the point of being painful and her optics showed more than fear, they also carried a huge amount of regret. She kept wondering about the past, about all the things they- that she had done that seemed to inconsequential at the time but the brutal echoes kept drilling into her processor in a painful way. When Airachnid noticed the distress her friend was under she reached out and stood by her, taking her servos and letting the Forger squeeze them until she was sure they would be some slight dents by the time the femme calmed down.

"Well, I'm staring right at him." Arcee's voice came though the console and brough everyone out of their reverie. She confidently approached the slumbering giant and deployed her blaster, aiming directly at the tube connected to his sparkchamber with only one intention in mind. "Good news is Megatron is not exactly staring back. He's critical, hooked up to life support. Time to finish this once and for all." Her blaster began warming up and she was ready to take out their greatest enemy for good.

"Wait, don't!" The Autobot medic's voice rang through the comm link.

"What?!" Every Maker in the base exclaimed, questioning why he'd stop the offlining of a mech who'd only brought them nothing but suffering.

"Don't listen to him!" Airachnid yelled from her spot next to a more grounded Doomsday. "Shoot that scrapheap and end this once and for all!"

"Do it, Arcee!" Silverbot uncharacteristically edged the femme's promise of violence on. "We've waited long enough for that fragger to meet Unicron!"

"Ratchet, please elaborate." Solarflare's calm voice was heard through the console.

"Flare, you know better than anyone of us what a danger he is!" Doomsday couldn't believe her friend would let that- that monster live a moment longer. "Let Arcee do it!"

"Let's just listen to him first. Ratchet, your thoughts?"

"Does he display processor activity?" Ratchet asked while praying his guess was right. If so then they might have just found another way to help Optimus.

Back on the Decepticon ship Solarflare calmly moved from her spot at the medbay console and approached the machinery surrounding Megatron, doing her best to avoid looking at the mech, and took a look at the main screen.

All the Maker did was take a look at a digital chart displayed right beside the 'patient' to confirm Ratchet's hypothesis. "Well… yes. I would say that it's almost as if he's stuck in some sort of lucid dream."

"Perfect! If a cure exists Megatron may be the only one who knows it. You must enter his processor and find it."

"Enter Megatron's processor?! Ratchet are you out of your fragging mind?!" Arcee paced from one side to the other, servos on her hips, and attempting to make sense of her team's doctor request.

"The Decepticon laboratory should contain all the equipment you need for a cortical psychic patch." If someone ever told him he'd one day be utilizing that technology he'd have had them promptly take a mental evaluation before welding their aft to the ceiling for suggesting something so preposterous, and yet… Now it seemed I would be their only hope.

"No way! Have you even performed the procedure?" Arcee feared the answer to that question almost as much as undergoing the procedure itself.

"What is a cortical psychic patch?" Solarflare, having been caught off-guard, inquired. As soon as what she assumed was a modern piece of medical equipment was mentioned the blue femme seemed to behave fearfully of it. What could cause such terror that would cause her so much distress, the Maker wondered.

"It is a procedure through which the mind of one Cybertronian can be joined with another, using a cable connected directly between the two processors. By this means, the victim's memories can be viewed by both parties, allowing information to be extracted." Ratchet explained and heard a gasp from the other side of the line. "I have thoroughly studied the theoretical literature, but that is about it. Invented by Decepticons, outlawed by Autobots."

"Can't we just haul Megatron thought the groundbridge, buy us some time to figure this out?" The two-wheeler almost begged, desperately not wanting to undergo such a risky procedure.

"Time is one thing Optimus does not have! One of you must try this! I will not allow Optimus to pass knowing Megatron will outlive him!" The white and red Autobot bellowed with rage, both at himself and the Decepticon in question. If they'd known Megatron was being held in stasis in the Nemesis he'd have went to perform the procedure in person but anticipating something of that magnitude had been short of impossible.

"Ratchet, I would lay down my life for Optimus, anytime, anywhere, but a mind-body split…"

"I'll do it." Solarflare offered herself up without hesitation. She'd done more nerve-wrecking things in her lifecycle and it wasn't as if she'd be facing him in a physical level.

"NO!" Airachnid and Doomsday ran over to the console and shouted, fear ringing loud and clear on both sides.

"Mom, don't do it!" Silverbot's optics threatened to begin leaking. His Creator shouldn't have to lay down her life for anyone, much less for an Autobot, to the Pit with it if he was Optimus fragging Prime, she'd risked enough already to protect so many throughout her existence.

"Please, listen to Silver. I'm supposed to be the crazy one, not you!" Mayhem swore she'd never felt this much fear. To her it would be easier to face hordes of Cons than to witness her Carrier face _him_.

On the Nemesis, Bumblebee caught onto that something was off if every Maker was opposed to Solarflare doing it herself so he spoke up and volunteered to go in her place.

"Sorry, but I was more familiar than I'd like to admit with him during the pre-war times." That would be an understatement like saying the Council was only a little corrupt but still… she had to do it and face her fears. "I would have never brought this up but there are some things I haven't told anyone for a very good reason. If there's a cure somewhere in there I know I'll be able to find it."

The scout pointed at himself once again but then to her as well. She'd need some backup in there, weather she liked it or not they were on the same team and teammates looked after each other. He then commed Ratchet and asked him if it was possible to do something very dangerous.

"Both of you?" Ratchet racked his processor for an answer. "I mean… theoretically it could be possible."

"Then let's put it to the test, shall we?" The white and green seeker nodded towards the yellow scout with and gave him a nervous smile.

Back at the base everyone remained quiet. Solarflare was indeed stubborn and accomplished in her own rights, she was capable of so much and to deny her would be moral suicide. There would be no way to convince her to change her mind, be it either by appealing to her rational or emotional side, so all the Makers could do was brace themselves and hope for the best.

"Solarflare and Bumblebee are going in at the same time?" Radical wondered out loud. "I hope they'll both be ok."

"Bee's the best scout there is." Bulkhead reassured the sparkling with a smile. He knew everything would be alright, he was sure of it.

Doomsday reached up and scooped up her little mech in her arms, hugging him before pulling back. "And you know how Flare is with protecting others, they'll be back in no time."

"Yeah, but… who will protect them in there?" That was the one questions no one could answer the seekerlet.

* * *

While the Autobots and Makers braced themselves for a bigger invasion than they'd anticipated a certain someone was losing his patience over the fact their privacy was very much at risk of being breached (and unknowing it already had).

"Why has the electromagnetic shielding not been repaired?" If in Starscream's place had been Megatron there would be a lot more Vehicon offlined frames littering the Nemesis' bridge and a few holes in the walls, curtesy of a fusion cannon.

"The crews are working as fast as they can Lord S-" The Vehicon was quickly backhanded and lowered his helm.

"We are leaking a trail! All the Autobots need do to pinpoint our position is to access the right frequency wavelength." The seeker leaned over another Vehicon and clenched his servos least he made use of his pointed digits to relieve some of his anger. "Accelerate your efforts!"

"Yes, Lord Starscream."

The three Vehicons hurried out of the control bridge as fast as possible. Even if Starscream didn't possess Megatron's strength they shared the same impatience when it came to all the faceless drones that made up the majority of the Decepticons' cannon fodder.

Just as one nuisance disappeared another showed up, this time in the shape of a vain red medic with a passion for buffing and vivisection. The main door opened and Knock Out strutted in, something he felt at ease doing since the big M was put in a balance between reality and pushing up lugnuts.

"Doctor in the house." He announced with an air of smugness, his perfect frame freshly polished. Not that anyone in that primus forsaken ship could appreciate it.

Starscream repressed the urge to claw at his helm but did clench his dentas to hold in a snarl. Regaining an air of calm he turned around to greet the resident medic with what he hoped came across as indifference. "Ah, Knock Out, and how is the patient doing today?"

"Same old."

"An inglorious fate that he should remain in this vegetative state."

"On the contraire." Knock Out attempted to correct the replacement Lord's assumptions with a smug air about himself. "Megatron's frame may be scrap metal but his mind is still percolating."

"Keep that to yourself!" Said Starscream in a hurried hushed tone, optics narrowed and shifting from one side to the other. "That blasted Soundwave sees and hears everything."

"The optics and audios of the Decepticons." Now the red mech could see where the conversation was heading. He'd always known the seeker aimed for the top, no questions about it, but to doom their ex-leader to such a fate… honestly, it was no surprise at all at that point.

"Well, as long as their master remains in limbo so does their cause. The Decepticons deserve a strong and alert leader."

"One who would require a loyal second in command."

"A candidate would need to earn that post by making a strong case to said optics and audios." A sinister smile made its way onto Starscream's faceplates and his red optics shone with ambition. Every bot had their price, after all.

"A case for showing mercy, Lord Starscream?" The seeker wasn't the only one who knew how to kiss aft but did thoroughly enjoyed being on the end of it, Knock Out had no doubts about it. It was about time he got an increase in title as well…

"You scratch my back, I scratch yours."

* * *

Solarflare helped Arcee procure the materials from around the laboratory and assisted with the construction of the cortical psychic patch, a three-way version capable of transferring two minds into another… theoretically. Now, all they needed to do was establish the connection.

Arcee plugged in the exit side of the cabling to the underside of the medical berth the warlord was resting on and carefully stepped back into a vent to the side not too far, where Bumblebee and Solarflare were already sitting down and leaning against the wall, preparing themselves for what might happen when the patch was activated.

"Ratchet, we're ready." Arcee commed though to the Autobot medic.

"Initiate simultaneous cortical psychic patch." The mech gave the order, knowing their only hope lied beyond the physical realm.

The blue two-wheeler braced herself, let her cooling fans calm down, and plugged in the double-ended ended part of the cable into both bot's helms at the same time and turned, causing them to slump over, their optics dimming down to a dull grey.

Bumblebee and Solarflare had expected to feel some sort of disconnection, a startling jump to their processors, anything that would have indicated they were no longer inhabiting their frames but none of those things happened. They remembered having been sitting down in a hidden vent and the next click they were standing on an extensive bridge over a pit of flaming molten metal, claw-like structures protruding from the sides that seemed to serve no other purpose than intimidation. It was as if they'd been standing there all that time.

Nodding to each other they began walking forward, looking around the frightening set they'd been greeted with. Charred black dilapidated walls surrounded the river of fire and a moon attempted to peek over equally dark clouds, giving the impression someone had made an extra effort just to make the whole set intimidate whoever dare to venture through it.

At the Omega One Outpost nobody could take their optics off the main screen that showed the imaginary landscape.

"The communications downlink is activated through Bumblebee. This will allow us to see and hear everything Bumblebee, and by extension Solarflare, do in Megatron's mind." Ratchet explain to the perplexed Cybertronians.

"Whoa. I recognize that place… I think." Silverbot knew somewhere in his processor he had seen that place before, only in a somewhat different state.

A few beeps came though the console's comm link and confirmed the triple-changer's suspicions.

"Kaon? The Decepticons actually took it their capital back on Cybertron?" The sparkling was surprised at the state it was in, though he was uncertain he'd ever even see a picture of it. "Your Sire fought there but I doubt it used to look like that back in his days."

"Huh, guess the big bad Con must have done some remodeling after getting it." Mayhem had let go of some of her apprehension when the images took her by surprise. Her Carried had never shown her what Kaon looked like or let her as much as see a gladiator in person, let alone even taken her there, no matter how much pleading was involved.

Doomsday snorted and crossed her arms, unimpressed at the changes, and attempted to hide her unease. "You're telling me. Flare and I used to make a few trips there when Victory was in bad shape and it barely looks the same. He actually managed to make a place where it looked all hope went and gave up even worse."

"Ratch, Optimus' vitals." Bulkhead drew everyone out of their memory lane trip to the pressing matter that was the Autobot leader's survival.

Airachnid, drawn by the wrecker's statement, stared at the mech laying on the medical berth. She still remembered how her spark had been broken when she'd been abandoned so far from home, clinging to a thread of hope that they'd come back for her. All that anger and resentment she refused to let go of after all this time somehow suddenly became meaningless and, for the first time in eons, she felt lost once more. Wasn't that she'd always wanted, to see the last Prime in the line go down?

"I know." He knew it better than anyone else. Ratchet then turned back to the screen and focused once more on the mission at hand. "Quickly, you two must figure out where information may be held in Megatron's mind. Solarflare, since you are the most familiar with the surrounding environment where should we look first?"

The Maker and Autobot scout were ascending a rather intimidating flight of stairs, the heat that should be expected from the molten river never making itself known. To her it was as if she'd been thrown into a demented version of the past. She still remembered so vividly watching Victory turn back and wave at her, giving her a big smile even though his next battle could always be his last… Just like that time when she'd finally caved in and brought Silverbot along to see his Sire fight, only to- no matter! The past was the past.

"If I remember correctly this is one of the ways into the main arena. We could start there and then…" As they reached the top of the staircase an unexpected vie greeted them. Even more unexpected than the Decepticon makeover of Kaon. "Is that…?"

The two bots stopped in their tracks at the sight of the Autobot Leader facing away from them, staring at something far up ahead. Bumblebee's optics widened and he ran up to the familiar tall mech.

"Wait!" Solarflare reached forward but was unable to grasp the scout, remaining behind in her confusion.

"Bumblebee, that is not Optimus, but a figment of Megatron's mind, it cannot see or hear you." Ratchet's voice came though the comm link, warning them not to get distracted by someone that could not be the just like they were.

A deep menacing laughter echoed though the arena, a very familiar tone to the invading bots. Megatron stood atop a ledge sporting a throne, looking as if he'd never encountered the spacebridge explosion, confidently displaying himself out in the open with no army to back him up. "Optimus Prime, your Autobot armies are defeated, bow before your new master."

Illusion Optimus drew his blade and narrowed his optics, ready to battle his foe. "Never, Megatron. One shall stand and one shall fall."

Bumblebee, realizing his frame was hidden behind the illusion's, cautiously stepped away to hide behind a pile of rubble, joining an already hiding Solarflare who'd taken her first chance to shelter herself from the sight of Megatron. They exchanged looks of apprehension. It wasn't in their plans to face the warlord himself, just to go in, search though some memories, find the cure, and get out faster than a scraplet went through a meal.

"So be it." Megatron drew his weapon as well, jumped from the ledge with a resounding landing and ran up to his opponent, blade poised to deliver a fatal strike.

The two enemies let out battle cries in their run but, just as they were at their closest, their blades never met, Megatron swiftly running his weapon through Optimus' chestplates, making the long-hated mech disappear in a cloud of blue smoke.

Bumblebee shivered at of his leader be defeated so easily while Solarflare closer her optics with a pained expression.

The femme put a servo on her teammate's shoulder, attempting to comfort him with the most motherly tone she could muster. "Remember, it's all an illusion."

Back at the base everyone was taken back by what they'd just seen, unsure on what to make of it. It was clear Optimus had never lost in a fight to Megatron, given that he was right there, even if ailing from Cybonic Plague.

"That never happened." Bulkhead could only point out the very obvious and turned to their best expert on the matter. "Ratchet, what's going on in there?"

"It's not a memory, we're seeing Kaon as Megatron recreated it in his darkest dreams." The medbot explain to everyone why they'd just witnessed the Prime fall to the blade of Megatron. If it turned out the place where the Decepticon was hiding the information they needed was with himself then their mission had turned hopeless once more.

Mayhem subtly leaned against Silverbot and looked up to meet his gaze. It wasn't often she felt this helpless. "Mom's gonna come back, won't she?"

The triple-changer had always strived to be honest with his sister. No matter how much of an annoying, aggravating, worrisome never-still prankster she was she would always be the little sister who looked up to him and smiled every time. "Of course she will, she knows what she's doing." He didn't voice 'I hope', both because he didn't want to worry her or admit to himself it could have been the last time they'd see their Carrier.

Things weren't looking too good on the two interlopers' end as far as anyone could see and they were about to get even more difficult. Part of the rock Bumblebee and Solarflare were hiding against began to shift and another Optimus came forth, taking shape and readying to fight, and making the femme have to turn around to face the scout and press her wings down in order for them not to be spotted. Between a rock and a hard place, indeed.

"Megatron, your treachery ends here." The new illusion warned and prepared to strike.

Megatron merely retracted his blade, aimed his fusion canon and fired, letting the second incarnation of his enemy dissolve in a cloud of smoke as well.

Solarflare had barely managed to restrain Bumblebee, keeping him from jumping in the path of the blast.

"For Solus' sake, be still!" She whispered. "I know how painful it must be but remember this is not real, none of it is." It was then the seeker realized something and released the now calmer Autobot scout. She placed a servo on his door wing to get him to look at her. "I know what we have to do… What I have to do. Stay in place no matter what you see or hear." She commanded in a tone that demanded total obedience, one she hadn't used in a long time. "Ratchet, everyone, I'm going to do something no one else more than me is going to hate and I swear to Solus herself if anyone dares to mention what's going to happen at any point in the future…" She trailed off into her comm before hanging up. There could be no distractions during what she was about to pull.

"No!" Silverbot shouted on the other side of the line, but his plea went unanswered. "Please don't do what I think you're about to do."

"He's right, there's got to be another way, don't do anything you'll regret!" Doomsday knew it was pointless but still attempted to communicate with her friend.

"What exactly is going on here?" Ratchet turned to the Makers. He knew it had something to do with what Solarflare had revealed to him and Optimus after they'd faced the Terrorcon army but even then the information felt incomplete, like she'd deliberately omitted some finer details.

"Solarflare is about to do something extremely dangerous." Airachnid approached the medbot and, for once, there was no trace of humor in her faceplates or any attempts at getting a reaction from him. "And she would appreciate if you lot could keep your intake holes shut, which you will." She looked between the two Autobots present and knew Arcee was likely listening in from her side.

"I still don't get it, what's she gonna do?" Bulkhead looked at Mayhem but all he saw was an apprehensive seeker leaning against her brother for comfort, the exact opposite of what he'd known her to be.

"Just keep your optics open and your intake hole shut." Airachnid nodded to what was happening on the screen.

Solarflare was looking over Bumblebee straight at Megatron and, when he turned his back she knew it was time to act. The femme carefully stepped out of her hiding spot and took a few steps forward to look like as if she'd appeared out of thin air. Placing on a mask of indifference she willed her cooling fans to remain calm before speaking up. "Did you know I never liked Kaon? I could never understand how some bots could spend their whole lives here and not go crazy."

Megatron stiffed in place and slowly turned around to face the femme whose voice he still kept in his memory banks. Even after the time that had went by he would always remember that sound. He raced to touch her but as soon as his servo attempted to brush her faceplates it went right though. He gasped. "What?" He attempted to repeat the action, only for it to fail again, and he backed away to take a good look at the femme he once held in his arms. "How…? No phase displacement armor, your optics track my movements and you cannot be-"

"Couldn't I?"

"No! I do not believe in spirits, there has to be an explanation!"

"I would say you're finally going crazy but, unfortunately, when we met you already were. It just took me a while to realize it."

At the base the Makers felt themselves relax at the revelation that there couldn't be any physical contact between the Decepticon leader and Solarflare. They caught onto what she seemed to be attempting to do, trick him into giving her the cure, but a wrong word would be all it took for her to either fail or reveal something she shouldn't.

Radical, who had been clinging to his Carrier's 'dreads' (and unknowingly pulling on them, but Doomsday had remained silent), at the realization that Solarflare was saver than he thought eased up. "Megatron can't touch her?"

"Because Solarflare is not a creation of Megatron's mind. So, any of you care to explain what is happening?" The medbot hated to remain in the dark, especially when Optimus' spark was on the line and it involved Solarflare's mysterious past with the warlord.

"Go frag yourself, you heard the ladybot, no mentions of this ever again." Doomsday snapped at the mech before anyone could understand what had happened.

Ever since The Forger detoxed from the high-grade her prediction had become true, swearing becoming an occasional occurrence, usually away from Radical's audio receptors, but for her to swear at Ratchet while holding her son it was a surprise. When she realized what she'd done, however, instead of regretting it, stood by her claim and huffed, refusing to meet the white and red mech's gaze.

Airachnid snorted at her friend's outburst and held up her servos while taking a symbolic step back and shaking her helm. "I like you, but not that much, sweetspark."

Ratchet looked at Silver and Mayhem but they kept quiet and refused to say anything. Just his luck, even the blabbermouth heavy-duty seeker had went quiet. His last hope was Radical but all it took was to make optic contact with the sparkling for the small mech to also shake his helm in denial.

"You heard mom, go something yourself." Radical shrugged.

Since it seemed no one would be answering his question all the medbot could do was sigh and draw his gaze back to the screen. Makers were indeed renowned for keeping secrets within their community, refusing to share anything with any outsiders and, as an Autobot, he was one. To them information was a form of secondary currency, shared among all but to be traded with for the right price with the right bot, hence why they appeared to have some sort of weight in the Council's rulings, no matter how much the bots liked to deny any and all connections to the Makers.

In the dream world conjured by Megatron the things still seemed to be going Solarflare's way, with the mech believing her explanation she was a spirit. Solarflare knew her plan was rushed and she'd have to improvise as it went along, trying to steer the conversation and getting him into a position where he'd have to at least show her the cure. She was about to speak up once more when a bump in the road appeared from nowhere and she somehow knew it was the end to her farce.

"Megatron." Another Optimus showed up, this time accompanied by Bumblebee and Bulkhead, all three of them illusions conjured up by the twisted mind of the Decepticon warlord.

Megatron's optics widened. "YOU!" He bellowed let out a cry, aiming his fusion canon and shooting with accurate precision 3 times, aiming for the sparks.

The three illusions disappeared as soon as the shots made contact, just like the previous two, but not before the real Bumblebee jumped out from his hiding place to stand in between the Illusion of Optimus Prime and the supposedly fatal shot, only to remain completely unharmed while the blast went through him harmlessly. The scout, only then having realized what he'd done, turned around to face the rage-filled Decepticon and the surprised Maker, a look of alarm in his optics.

"Oh, scrap." Whispered Solarflare, knowing their cover had been blown along with her plan.

"What?!" Megatron was very confused but, as usual, his confusion soon turned into unadulterated rage. "The Autobot scout? But I just watched you perish!" He approached the yellow mech and attempted to stab him multiple times, only for his blade to phase right though his enemy's frame. The Decepticon stared the Autobot down and a though came to his mind. "You…" He turned to the femme and chuckled darkly. "You two are real, they were not. I have to say, quite a daring plan, my darling. If the bumbling fool hadn't attempted to save an illusion I would have been none the wiser. Using a cortical psychic patch is rather a devious plan, how unexpected."

Ratchet almost swore the warlord could see though the screen they were staring at but that would be impossible, it was mostly the dread he was feeling in his spark struggling not to go into overdrive. "We've stirred Megatron from his oblivion, he's becoming self-aware."

"Get her out of there!" Silverbot rushed to the console, shoving the medbot to the side with unexpected aggressiveness. "Arcee, disconnect mom right now!"

"No!" Ratchet attempted to shove himself into place in front of the console but was not match to the triple-changer's size. "Arcee, do not listen to him! We cannot do that or else we'll risk losing this opportunity."

"Well, I don't care!"

"Silver, you might want to calm down." Doomsday was becoming rather afraid something could go down between the two mechs and had a good bet on who would end up losing.

"No!" Silverbot faced the Forger with worry written all over his faceplates, the anxious state unconsciously bringing up some violence along with it. "She has to get out of there or else-"

Mayhem punched her brother right in the abdominal plating with all the strength she could muster, causing him to double over in pain and then, without giving him time to recover, hit him square in the faceplates, sending him flying against a wall. The triple-changer groaned and slid down the surface, slumping over into stasis.

"That should knock him out long enough." Mayhem behaved as if what she'd just done was nothing out of the ordinary and rotated her shoulder pads and gestured for Ratchet to take back his position. "Go on, docbot, when he comes out of stasis mom better not be inside the Decepticreep's mind anymore." She then noticed everyone staring at her but she settled for shrugging it off. "Anyone who wanted to see that show go on longer raise your servo." Nobody moved. "Well, no need to thank me, then."

* * *

Arcee glanced between both unconscious bots. "Come on… what are you two doing in there?" Having heard Silverbot shout had almost made her jump in her spot and having her blaster readily deployed wouldn't have helped at all. Now, she was becoming increasingly impatient and fearful for what might be happening inside Megatron's mind if Silverbot had commed her to disconnect Solarflare.

The door opened and three distinct sets of footsteps were heard coming though. Peeking from a corner of the vent she saw the three Decepticons she wanted to see the least in that situation.

"Knock Out, if you were to be so kind as to provide your expert medical opinion to Soundwave, for the historical record." Starscream walked ahead of the other two mechs, a strut in his step that was almost undetectable if one wasn't familiar with him.

Said medbot in question stepped forward and gestured towards the screen displaying their leader's vitals. "Simply put, unaided, Megatron could remain in this deathless slumber forever."

"Our master would not have wanted to be seen this way, to stand idly by while he remains captive in his own body is not just."

Soundwave raised a winged arm and pointed at the spiking curves that showed the mech was yet to be offline and was well within his own mind.

"Processor activity, not evidence of consciousness but of an endless dream from which Megatron may never wake." It wasn't entirely true but there really was a lack of a good SIC around the Nemesis… one who possessed great beauty and a perfect finish.

"Soundwave, we must face reality. Megatron is lost to us." The seeker made a flourished motion with his arm and clenched his servo, attempting to seem distraught.

"The only honorable option would be to show him mercy."

"A simple throw of the switch."

"Quick, painless, compassionate." Knock Out gestured to the lever that, if pulled down, would snuff out Megatron's spark for good.

Inside the vent Arcee knelt down and willed herself not to panic. This was bad, the kind of bad that could get two of their teammates offlined.

"Ratchet, are you hearing this?" The two-wheeler commed the base, unsure on what to do. She couldn't very well climb up and start shooting, not with three on one and two of theirs down for the count for the moment.

"If Megatron perishes Bumblebee and Solarflare's minds will separate from their frames… forever."

"So, we'll lose one two bots at best and three at worst?" Doomsday had set Radical back down on the platform up above but she wished she hadn't, needing to hug something to calm herself. The Forger couldn't allow Solarflare to perish alongside that piece of scrap metal.

"They'll find a way out before it happens, I'm sure they can do it." Bulkhead put a servo on the femme's shoulder. "Like I said, Bee's the best scout there is, and I bet Solarflare can hold her ground pretty well.

"Yeah... I sure hope so."

* * *

"If this is my subconscious… WHAT ARE YOU DOING INSIDE MY PROCESSOR?" Megatron roared right in Bumblebee's faceplates before stepping back and looking around. "What happened to me?" HE stared into scared blue optics and the color brought back some rather… painful memories.

 _An explosion._

 _The spacebridge collapsing around him._

 _His Terrorcon army from Cybertron was in his grasp._

 _Just a little more…_

 _Nothingness._

"The spacebridge explosion. And yet, if you're in my mind I am not one with the Allspark." Something of that caliber should have torn him apart, even with the dark energon flowing though his frame, and yet why hadn't he… Of course, it was so obvious. The armor. He then turned to Solarflare and his smile was a cross between what could have resembled want and disbelief. "And neither are you. Trying to trick me, but what for?"

The white and green femme let out a sigh and turned her helm away from those toxic red optics. She went around the tall mech, ignoring the servo that extended in front of her and that she passed right though (she still remembered how it felt, back then) and remained next to the yellow scout. "I told you to stay hidden. Now, let's forget the theatrics and go straight to the point." She still refused to look Megatron in the optics, even as she began speaking with him. "We're here because we need a cure to something you created. Cybonic Plague, to be precise."

"Cybonic Plague? Someone besides myself is… is unwell?" The tyrant took a moment to think before it dawned upon him who the likely victim was, if the scout's attempted sacrifice was anything to go by. "Optimus! Such irony, that after ages of endless battle, the mighty Optimus Prime is felled by a simple virus from a distant past. Why would I save the life of my oldest enemy? For you, Flare, I would have reshaped Cybertron itself but now this…"

Solarflare finally made optic contact and it took all her will for her not to flinch at the sight of those cold, empty orbs. "What do you want?"

Bumblebee beeped worriedly but a white and green arm spread in front of him, willing the Autobot to quiet himself. He had no idea what Megatron had meant by reshaping Cybertron just for her but it sounded rather… intimate for his tastes.

"Well, we can't exactly go through with plans A or B anymore, can we? In my experience you either blackmail or bribe in these situations and the first option isn't viable here."

The Autobot though for a moment then began explaining something. If Optimus was to be deceased shortly it didn't matter how many illusions Megatron ended, the real one would forever be out of his grasp. They could leave him there to fight to his spark's content but, at the end of it all, everything that happened would forever be a dream.

"After our deep history together to not watch the spark ebb from Optimus' optics with my very own… well played, scout." Megatron opened his palm to show an image of two 3D cubes containing lines of code and offered it to the yellow Autobot. "The chemical formula for the cure you seek. Not that I expect you to know how to read it." Bumblebee reached for it but the grey servo closed just as he was about to grab it. "Not yet. And how am I to accomplish terminating Optimus as you propose while I am here trapped in a perpetual daydream? Once you released me from this prison you will have the cure." It should have been it, all his demands laid out, but then he remembered who else was there besides the scout. "And she shall remain by my side upon my awakening."

"What?!"

At the base everyone else was as shocked as Solarflare, except for Ratchet, who spotted his opportunity and isolated that single frame that could save it all, those recurring annoying questions about the Maker's past could wait a while longer. They finally had it.

* * *

The three Decepticons remained still in front of their stasis Lord, two of them waiting for the third to agree to their consensus and put a stop to Megatron's spark and sending him on a one-way trip to the Allspark.

"Soundwave, do I take your silence to mean you concur with Knock Out's medical expertise?" Starscream knew there would be no chance the ever silent mech would voice out anything. He turned to Knock Out, who shrugged and remained silent as well. "Speak now, or forever hold your peace." He reached for one of the tubes connected to Megatron's frame and got a firm grasp on it. "Going… Going…"

Arcee steadied her blaster and aimed straight at the seeker's spark. In case he made a move she'd have no choice but to engage her enemies, no matter how much the odds were stacked against her.

Soundwave pointed to the floor before Starscream could commit the final deed and offline their leader. A cable, different from every other in the room, ran from the underside of the medical berth towards a nearby ground-level vent. That made the soon-to-be only Decepticon Lord pause in his actions and let go of the tube.

Starscream went to examine the strange new addition to the life-support array and knelt to see under the medical berth. The cable looked awfully familiar, but he could not pinpoint to what exactly, and he followed the trail with his optics, leading him down into the vent.

Arcee pressed herself against the wall before she could be spotted and her processor raced to decide what to do. "Scrap. Come on, come on…" She begged under her breath for the two unconscious bots to wake up.

"Arcee, we have the formula! Disconnect Bumblebee and Solarflare now!" Ratchet's voice came though the comm link.

Arcee wasted no time and grabbed both cables, yanking them out of the helms of both bots, wondering if she'd used more force than necessary but her spark was racing almost out of its chamber at that point. They were finally (almost) safe and that was all that mattered.

* * *

Inside the dream, Kaon began collapsing, a violent storm sweeping everything up and taking it away amidst a thunderstorm. The once opulent arena came apart, towers blowing up, the molten fires from the river mixing in with the sweeping winds, creating massive explosions and demolishing everything in its path.

Megatron could only watch as the empire he'd conjured up came apart like a mere house of cards and realized he'd been played for a fool. "You were watching! You ticked me!" He accused the two bots with an acidic tone.

Bumblebee and Solarflare began dissolving along with the staged illusion, aware they'd be returning to their frames and leaving the tyrant behind. Good riddance to him, they thought, he'd be crushed by his own desire to gloat and underestimate those who he considered not be on par with his intellect.

"No! Take me with you!" The warlord ran up to them but the two bots merely disappeared between his digits. He wasn't about to perish, not when he knew she was still out there and that his forever enemy's spark would continue to exist. "TAKE ME!"

The warlord's screams echoed as he was swept up in the storm until his form was no more, vanished out of the realm of illusion.

…But to where?

* * *

"Hurry…" Arcee shook the two by the shoulders and turned around with her blaster ready just as Starscream knelt over to inspect where the mystery cable leaded to.

The Autobot scout and the Maker came to just at the right moment and, seeing Arcee with her weapon out, got to their pedes and did the same. From the looks of it they weren't out of harm's way just yet.

"What in-?!" All Starscream had time to see were the three intruders backing up into an opening groundbridge, weapons deployed and ready to defend themselves during their escape. "Intruders!" The seeker aimed his weapon at them but everything else happened too fast for him to even shoot.

Solarflare was the first to turn tail and run away, her spark racing and her optics maybe leaking just a little. The encounter had rattled too many old emotions inside her. Bumblebee followed her suit, walking backwards with his blasters deployed but never got the chance to shoot. That honor belonged to someone else.

"Allow me." Arcee's shot went by Starscream and hit Megatron's main support cable, the one hooked to his sparkchamber. The two wheeler jumped back and the green vortex disappeared but het her smirk did not.

The Decepticons were left only with the sound of a flatline… Well, two of them had gained something else.

Starscream smirked but soon managed to get a worried expression to take its place. He sighed and resumed his downcast theatrics about their 'illustrious' leader's demise. "It was the inevitable outcome." The seeker, however, did not get to remain on his high pedestal for long before Soundwave got in his faceplates and pointed to their still salvageable master. He groaned but complied, least he be accused of treachery and gestured to the CMO. "Of course it would be wrong to allow Megatron to perish by an Autobot's servo. Knock Out."

Said medic only shrugged and waved a servo uninterestedly. The red Aston Martin walked over to the cable that had been disconnected and hooked it back up to its place and the beeping soon resumed.

They'd have to wait a little more, it seemed.

* * *

A few hours after the cure had been administrated the illness 'veins' that had propagated throughout the Prime's body had finally disappeared and he'd been given the clear to, at last, get up from the medbay.

"That's it. Steady." The medbot helped Optimus back onto his, albeit shaky, pedes. All that worry, all that effort, it had paid off in the end and his friend was still online.

Everyone cheered and clapped for the now cured Autobot leader, the heavy atmosphere finally lifting away and letting them ease up at last.

"Please, reserve the hero's welcome for my physician." Optimus gestured to Ratchet. "And my scout, along with Solarflare."

Radical jumped onto Bumblebee's arms and hugged him. "I knew you could do it, Bee! You're amazing!"

The yellow mech could only act embarrassed about it, even if he himself could acknowledge what he'd went through to keep his leader from perishing. He should have felt proud but it felt like he was missing an important part.

Airachnid and Doomsday hugged Solarflare, who would have blushed if she was able to, and put their arms around her neck, laughing away the pent-up stress they'd accumulated throughout the whole ordeal. It had been difficult but the two managed to convince Bumblebee, Ratchet and Bulkhead not to mention any of the interactions between Solarflare and Megatron while in the dreamscape. She deserved to let her past be buried along with the warlord and, even if they attempted to bring it up, no amount of coercing would get a word out of any of the Makers.

"Boss-bot is back, yeah!" Mayhem threw her arms ups and gave a thumbs up to the blue and red mech.

Silverbot leaned down with a mischievous smile. "You know, there's still the matter of you knocking me out." He wasn't upset, he'd have done something he's come to regret if not for his sister immobilizing him, even if it was with a rather unusual method. Well, unusual for anyone else but her. She really owned up to her punch-happy nature, that right hook had hurt like the Pit.

"Well, by the time mom got here you were up and no one said anything about it, so who's to say it actually happened?" The heavy-duty femme smirked back.

"I really should have told on you."

"Then I would have yelled out that you-"

"Annnd I remember nothing. Really how would you feel if I said the same about you?"

"You could yell it over everyone's comm link and I wouldn't care." She winked at her older brother. "Just because I like to live fast doesn't mean I can't enjoy a slow ride. Also, unrelated not here, I found my guitar I know you hid. Lost in the move, yeah right…"

* * *

Starscream walked into the medbay, servos clasped behind his back. "And how is the patient doing today?" He really hoped closer to Unicron… That blasted Soundwave always ruined everything.

"Funny you should ask." Knock Out really had no idea what to make of the readings he was getting on the life support. "Not sure what the Autobots did in there but Megatron's registering zero processor activity."

"Mmm. Meaning?" Well, now that was promising.

"Physically he's stable but now there's… no one home."

* * *

 **AN: Soooo... is this chapter worth a review? Tell me what you think :D**


	25. Out of his head

**AN: Another extra-long chapter but after this it** **'** **ll go back to two/three chapters per episode, I just felt like making these last two extra special. As usual a shout out to Dragonlver22 for helping me along and just being a great person. And remember, read and review because I want to know what you all think about my writing and we** **'** **ve officially reached 100k words :D**

* * *

"Follow the light." Ratchet used a flashlight to test the Autobot leader's recovery speed, the last of many exams after the cure had been administered, and, with a smile, put away the instrument. "I wouldn't advise anything strenuous, Optimus, but it appears that your systems have fully recovered from the Cybonic Plague."

"Thanks to your medical expertise, old friend." Optimus thanked the medbot with a grateful smile. He wasn't one with the Allspark yet because of the dedicated team he and and gave thanks to it every time he came out of recharge.

"It was your scout who brave unknown territory to locate the cure." Gesturing to said mech, who would have blushed at such praise, Ratchet also made sure to get one more mention in there. "Solarflare here as well."

Said femme was reading a data pad with information regarding the evolution of Prime's vitals during the entirety of the time he'd been afflicted with Cybonic Plague and the aftermath of the cure. She still hadn't given up on her attempts to be in the 'backup team' along with Ratchet, even if her knowledge had to catch up to a lot she'd missed during the war and her little adventure had cemented her resolve to be confined to the base for most of the time. She was a seeker, it was in her nature to crave flight and freedom instead of enclosed spaces, but she'd long ago tamed that beast though pure resolve and focus on doing her job, whatever the job may have entailed at the time.

"Don't remind me. If I had to classify the experience between weird and terrifying I'd pick the 'never again' option." Solarflare longed to forget the visage of the Decepticon Lord and how he'd looked at her with _actual_ affection. Not that she'd share that information with anyone else.

"Lucky for us Megatron was still alive." Arcee commented and got a surprised response from Bumblebee. "Yeah, I actually said that." What would she say next, 'thank you Starscream'?

"What matters is that you're on the mend, Optimus, while Megatron-"

Bumblebee interrupted Ratchet before he could finish his sentence. While it was true Arcee had shot one of the life-support cables keeping the Decepticon warlord alive they weren't sure of his fate.

"Bee's right. Did my best to finish Megatron's story, just couldn't stick around long enough to see how it ended." The two wheeler wished she had, terminating the life of the backbone of the Decepticons was a feat one could be proud of.

While Arcee talked to the others Bumblebee stiffened, feeling like his processor suddenly disconnected from the rest of his frame, and wandered off not-so-sure it was of his own volition. He wasn't well aware of his actions and entered a sort of incomplete stasis where is mind blacked out while his frame remained conscious by some sort of means.

Solarflare, who up until that point had been revising the data on the Cybonic Plague, noticed the scout take on a weird look on his optics, almost like they'd unfocused, and decided to put down the datapad and go after the yellow mech. While her knowledge of the medical branch could be little outdated in certain areas she could still spot when someone acted out of the ordinarily, usually due to an extreme event.

"Congratulations doctor, would you like to celebrate?" Airachnid, somehow having managed to sneak up on the conversation, came up from behind Ratchet and put her servos on his shoulders, felling the mech stiffen on contact.

The medbot almost jumped in surprise and stepped away from the spider femme so fast it was a surprise he didn't trip on his own pedes. "For your information there are still some tests I have to run."

The femme grinned, clearly enjoying teasing the older mech. "But I though your said his systems had completely recovered from the Cybonic Plague."

"Yes, well… calibrations, you see… and diagnostics are not definitive… preventions is the best at the moment… and…" Ratchet stumbled over his own words, making Arcee and Optimus want to laugh just a little at seeing their friend acting like a fish out of water.

Deciding to him out of his misery Airachnid chuckled and winked. "Don't worry, sweetspark. If you're shy I can be gentle." She then began walking away, sashaying her hips with her hands on them. "Be warned, Doomsday's messing with some C4 or whatever human explosives she's enamored with this time so do expect some noise and Radical's on you for today so do try to share the bridge this time."

"And where will you be during that time?"

"If you were with me you'd know but since you refused…" She shrugged. "Have fun, don't let him get into any vents."

"Vents?" Arcee looked quizzically at the retreating femme then at the two mechs but they knew just as much as her.

* * *

Bumblebee wandered through the halls of the Omega One base, although at that moment he wasn't aware of what he was doing. It hadn't dawned on him yet but he'd brought along someone else after the cortical psychic patch ordeal was over.

" _It is a matter of time before Optimus discovers not everything is alright with you, scout. I must recover my body, which means taking complete and total control of yours."_

"Bumblebee, are you alright?" Solarflare's voice broke the controlled Bumblebee's concentration and the scout turned around to face the femme. She was looking worried about what she could guess were aftershocks of being face-to-face with the leader of the Decepticons himself.

Reassuring her he was alright Bumblebee attempted to hide the fact he had no idea where he'd been heading in the first place. Between talking with the others and standing out in one of the hallways with no particular direction in mind everything was a blur but he didn't want to alarm the medbot, either of them.

"Are you sure? I mean, facing _him_ is enough for a good scare, I know that. Looking back doing so on that demented version of Kaon with all that molten metal and seeing _him_ destroy Optimus mustn't have been easy either."

Once more Bumblebee attempted to quell the femme's worries about his health. He'd figure out what was making him act weird on his own, no need to worry anyone else, Optimus' condition was already enough for the whole base.

"Alright, if you say so." Solarflare put a servo on Bumblebee's shoulder, wanting to give him some semblance of comfort. "If you start feeling not so well I'm always open for a talk. I understand there are some things, mistakes if you'd call them, that you want to leave buried but, trust me, they tend to crawl up and bring even more bad things along. It's never easy to admit you made a mistake but even more to not let the shame get the best of you."

After listening to her words and giving no warning the scout leaned in and hugged the femme, closing his arms around her torso and bringing her close to his frame, resting his chin on her shoulder, but minding his strength. He hadn't meant to do that, his optics widening when he realized what he was doing, but some part of him yearned for that comfort, for the affection he somehow craved all of the sudden.

" _What I would not give to caress those wings of yours with my servos once more."_

Mistaking the act for a search for a search for affection and as a form of thanking her Solarflare reciprocated the gesture, bringing her arms around Bumblebee's neck and giving him an unseen smile.

"I knew there was something in there waiting to come out." The femme said as they parted and her smile became nostalgic. "It must be because you and Silverbot are so close in age, but I can't help but to sometimes see you as one of my own. Like that third sparkling that balanced out the other two." She raised a servo to her faceplates and chuckled. "I can't even picture myself with a third, the current two are still giving me trouble to this day."

" _Stand by my side and I shall give you everything your spark desires."_

Bumblebee then beeped, encouraging her not to give up on any dream she might have, letting her know he believed she'd always be able to handle herself.

"Seriously? I may be a medic but patience always comes in limited amounts. You should've seen me back then, running between my family, my job and my friends like a mad femme." She turned around and began walking back to the main room, remembering her forgotten datapad before whispering one last though. "Sometimes I wonder what would've happened if Victory had survived."

A light pressure from behind startled Solarflare and she found herself being hugged once again by the scout who was being as gentle as possible and minding the wings sticking out of her back.

She smiled contently and sighed, another wave of nostalgia hitting her. "It's been a while since any of mine did that." It was hard not picturing the times back when her little sparklings were still actually little and clinging to her legs, looking up at the world in wonder. "Thank you, seems like I too needed some understanding." She eased herself away from Bumblebee's grip and continued on her path.

 _He longed to reach out and caress her faceplates, making her smile in the way she'd done so many times before she'd pushed him aside with no warning. Even if he was trapped in a foreign frame there was an upside to it, he could linger at her side without raising too many questions. "If I am to return to my body I must first restore its functionality. How did I escape annihilation?" He attempted to recall what he'd though to be his demise and saw Starscream ripping the shard from his sparkchamber, looking like the smug backstabbing, double-crossing vermin he was. Now he remembered. "Dark Energon… Starscream." He whispered in a menacing tone that promised a heavy dosage of payback._

* * *

Megatron's frame had not moved since being laid on the medical berth inside the Nemesis. All the Decepticons knew of this and waited impatiently for their leader to rise and command them once more, never mind the fact Starscream constantly demanded the use of the 'Lord' title and berated anyone for not recognizing him as the top mech in the pyramid of power.

It had been a little over a day since the two Autobots and the Make invaded the ship and used the cortical psychic patch (a matter kept under wraps from everyone) and attempted to terminate Megatron's spark. During that time the processor activity registered hadn't changed, remaining a flat line for all the time that had went by, even if his frame still functioned properly with the help of the life-support.

"Knock knock, is anyone in there?" The Decepticon Lord-in-charge tapped his knuckles on the much more intimidating mech's helm and smiled with glee at being confident there would be no response to his taunts. Stepping away from the medical berth Starscream continued his gloating. "No? Oh well, seems I possess the only thing that would allow you to rise of that slab and walk again… my dearest Megatron. The only scrap left on this planet, plucked from your very sparkchamber. But, it cannot restore your mind." He showed off the dark energon shard and twirled it in the air, a demented show of sorts to emphasize his say regarding the ex-Leader's consciousness. "The Decepticons need a leader, not a decorative centerpiece, and I will convince them that I am the true heir to your throne, with a plan so epic-"

"Not even the Mighty Megatron could've conceived it?"

Having been caught in his rant Starscream's ego quickly deflated and he fumbled with the dark energon before hiding it behind his back in order to face the medic that had caught him in the act of gloating to an empty vessel.

The Decepticon CMO had a smug air about him, loving the fact he had walked in on what he considered to be extremely amusing. The seeker had always had a flare for the theatrics, be it in the way he talked or the emphasizing with his frame's movements but this… it was as if one was watching a theater play and the main actor had been caught in his dialog and forgotten there was even an audience.

"Hehe, that was the idea, Knock Out." Starscream struggled to remain somewhat dignified before narrowing his optics in distrust. "How long have you been there?"

"Long enough, and it's Commander Knock Out to you, once and future Lord Starscream." He mock-bowed and the seeker in front of him could only raise an optic ridge.

Two already wished for the long-awaited departure of the once glorious Megatron and only one remained to keep them in check…

* * *

Mayhem had always loved a lot of art forms. Drawing, sculpting, painting, even the occasional literary datapad, but music would always take the number one spot every time. When she'd first laid her optics on a human guitar it didn't take long for her to corner Doomsday and demand the Forger built her something like that, only cooler and more badass. That had been how she ended up with her favorite way to annoy anyone around her and express herself, rock 'n roll, punk, metal and everything else that sounded like how she felt every day, amazing and awesome.

"Basketball, by way of Cybertron. Let the games begin, I play the winner!" The heavy-duty seeker enthusiastically shouted and played a loud chord in her guitar. "Gentlebots, let's do this, yeah!"

It had been her idea, of course, to adapt the human game into their version. They had to celebrate the boss-bot being back and getting rid of the big M (again) and what better way than with a little bit of roughhousing? Ratchet had forbidden lobbing inside the base anywhere near the equipment but hadn't said anything about other games that involved throwing stuff, creating a loophole Mayhem had been more than eager to explore.

Bumblebee twirled the ball previously used for lobbing on his digit and jumped, throwing it in an arch at the hoop made from similarly repurposed metal parts. Unfortunately to the scout before his throw could score Bulked intercepted the ball, landing with a loud stop before throwing it over his shoulder and gaining the first point in the game.

"Yeah, go Bulk!" Mayhem cheered and played a drawn-out note in her instrument, letting the noise reverberate though the entire room.

The wrecker picked up the ball at his pedes and threw it back at Bumblebee. "Come on, best two out of three."

The yellow mech caught the ball and accepted the challenge with a confident nod. He broke into a run, making a feint pass in order to get past Bulkhead, and managed to get close enough to his target so he could score without a problem.

"Bee, you're in the clear!" Radical encouraged his friend while his spark bounced excitedly. "Dunk it, Bee!"

Bumblebee was in striking distance to score with an epic dunk but just as he was preparing to strike he stopped dead in his tracks and froze involuntarily, the sensation almost like he'd felt when talking to ratchet and Optimus. His frame would not respond but the weirdest were vague memories that he couldn't recall going through his processor.

 _Optimus getting struck down_

 _The spacebridge_

 _Hordes of Terrorcons_

 _Blue flames enveloping him_

 _So close to the goal_

 _The explosion_

"Bumblebee, quit hogging the ball." Bulkhead stared at his teammate's back, annoyed at having to stop playing just because Bumblebee wanted to show-off.

Bumblebee un-froze but no one had expected him to violently throw the ball at the wrecker. Bulkhead ducked just in time for the improvised ball to fly over his helm and make a dent on the wall behind him before the pile of scrap metal landed on the floor.

"Flagrant foul, young mech!" Mayhem frowned and pointed at the Autobot scout with her guitar, holding the instrument as if it were her hammer.

"Dodgeball by way of Cybertron." Silverbot noted from his point of view on the sidelines besides Radical. "Not gonna play that either."

Before the gamed had begun the triple-changer had to resist the immense pestering from his sister and hold his ground though restless begging for him to join the game. He'd denied all offers to join the roster mainly because of his strength that sometimes could go unchecked, mainly if he were to get too much into the game, and if he were to go against Mayhem she'd purposefully get him to give all he had, disregarding her safety for the opportunity to face a strong opponent.

"Bee, hoop's over there." Bulkhead pointed to the object in question, thinking about the incoming processor ached he'd have had the ball hit him.

The scout apologized about almost hurting him and stating that he didn't know what came over him to do such a random thing.

"Bee, you ok?" Radical asked his friend, worried about what could have him in doing such a strange thing. Bumblebee beeped once more, this time cheerfully and reassuringly, and showed three digits. "Yeah, three out of five." The sparkling agreed to let the subject go but deep down was worried, wondering if it could happen again.

* * *

Radical sighed once more after taking a look at the time and tossed the controller aside on his plush berth. He sunk into the softness of the mattress made specifically for him with Airachnid's threads and resisted the urge to claw at the sheet covering it made from the same material, knowing he wouldn't be getting a new one in a very long while. The spider femme enjoyed knitting, a hobby she'd picked up when making accessories for the workers back on Cybertron, but her mood had become too finicky when they'd moved into the Autobot base.

Suppressing another wave of disappointment the sparkling opted to open up his comm link frequency to someone who might be able to help him.

On the other end of the line Silverbot was doing a routine patrol with Arcee when the sudden call made him curious. "Rad, what's happened?" He asked, unsure on what had prompted his friend to call him.

"Is Bumblebee on patrol with you? He was supposed to come to my berthroom to play a few games but he never showed up. His comm link's off and I didn't want to go searching around the base for nothing."

"I'm on patrol, yes, but only with Arcee. Mayhem's with Bulk and don't remember Bee going with them. Either he went alone or, well, he forgot about your thing."

"No, Bee would never forget about it. I'll just go look for him, I guess. Thanks." Radical tried not to sound too sad but he knew it was unavoidable for Silverbot to have picked up on it and hung up before the triple-changer could say anything else.

Hopping off his berth Radical turned off the console and headed out to try and find his friend. He couldn't have forgotten, could he?

* * *

Out in the Nevada desert a jet and a motorcycle had been doing a routine patrol route when a call came in for the jet and he landed down after the other side hung up, transforming into a giant alien robot.

"Wait just a click." Silverbot stretched out his arms up into the air and attempted to relive his spinal strut off the pressure it had been under. "I needed to get some use out of my tracks but now I'm just feeling cramped."

Arcee, who'd been the ground scouter as usual, stopped just shy of the triple-changer's pedes and turned into her bipedal mode as well, wondering what had happened for the mech to suddenly decide to halt their path. She knew he'd gotten a call that had interrupted their usual patrol chat but didn't know from who or what it had been about and that made her nervous.

"Who was it?" She asked, attempting to remain casual about the ordeal.

Sitting down in the shadow against a towering rock wall the mech felt more comfortable. "Who was it what?"

"Just now, you were talking to someone."

"Oh, that. Rad commed me about Bumblebee not showing up to play videogames and wanted to know if he was out with us."

Knowing it hadn't been a certain femme that decided to contact the triple-changer to reveal a rather damning piece of information made Arcee feel more at ease. "That's it? No one else?"

"Nope. Why, should I expect another bot?" Silverbot wondered why Arcee seemed so curious until a though popped into his processor. "Please, if Mayhem did something don't cover up for her, it'll end up targeting you sooner or later. Just like the rubber duck incident." He muttered the last part to himself.

"Rubber duck incident?"

"Don't ask."

The two-wheeler sat down next to the triple-changer and decided to get some rest as well, the shade cast by the towering rock wall feeling too good on her metal frame. She'd almost panicked for a moment and if hadn't been for her Academy training she'd have been given away in an instant but her composure had held firm. At least Airachnid had kept her end of the deal, just as promised.

* * *

Bumblebee had been walking towards Radical's berthroom, eager to play a few racing games with his friend, when something took over him once more. He felt as if his mind wasn't there anymore, that it had been forcefully pushed away from his processor by an outside force. Instead of going to meet his friend he remained still, as if some sort of internal conflict were occurring, and went over to Ratchet's workbench and picked up a piece of equipment.

" _Yes, go on scout, obey my will."_

The yellow mech clenched his first and easily crushed the metal, gaining a semblance of satisfaction he didn't known he desired as the material gave in under his strength.

"Bumblebee, I needed that!" A familiar voice startled Bumblebee.

The scout's optics widened and he slowly turned around to see Ratchet staring at him rather angrily.

The medbot couldn't believe what he'd just seen but then took in the confused expression of the Autobots' youngest member. "What has gotten into you?"

Bumblebee couldn't explain why he'd just destroyed a piece of Ratchet's equipment and no matter how much he went through his processor for answers none could fit the requirements. All he could say was that he remembered seeing brief flashes of Megatron's image when these strange episodes began happening soon after he'd returned to the base along with the other two femmes.

"You're seeing Megatron's face?"

"Hey, Bee, there you are!" Radical suddenly came running from the hallway and stopped before the bot he'd been looking for and reached to take his servo. "Come on, let's go play some games."

"I'm afraid that is not possible at the moment." Ratchet informed the sparkling, preventing him from taking off with the yellow mech. "Solarflare, Optimus, I need you to come in here for a moment." He commed both faction leaders, needing Optimus to inform him about the abnormal symptom displayed by their teammate and Solarflare for medical backup on the matter, as well as discerning if she also was affected by anything of a similar nature. "Bumblebee, you need to step into the scanner and get some peaceful rest until I can figure out what's going on with you."

Obeying the medbot's orders Bumblebee took one last look at Radical, the poor sparkling completely in the dark about what he'd been going through, and walked over to the machine before stepping into it. Immediately after getting settled in he felt himself getting lighter as he lost consciousness, optics shutting down as the relief of recharge took over.

"Ratchet, you commed? What's going on?" Solarflare entered the room in time to see the scout descending to recharge. She saw Radical's confused expression and wondered even more what was happening because she had no clue to speak of.

"Is there something wrong with Bumblebee?" Optimus came in after the seeker and took in the image of his scout inside the machine that was usually only used when something had went wrong with the bot in it.

"Bumblebee's complaining of intermittent visions, waking nightmares if you will." Ratchet explained to the bots that had just arrived. He went over to the controls of the machine and began running a diagnostic on the scout but he doubted the problem would show up in a physical check-up, no, his processor seemed to be at the center of the issue at hand.

"But you said Bee was fine when you checked him over." Radical stared at his friend with worry, wondering how long he'd been struggling with the issue. With a dishearten sigh he realized why the yellow mech had seemed out of it not long ago. "He was acting a little odd when he was playing with Bulkhead and I asked if he was ok but he dismissed it… I should've said something."

"Physically he seems to be alright but the experience he endured seems to be having an effect on his psyche. This induced power-down should force Bumblebee's mind to rest and recover." The medbot explained to the distressed small mech and hoped his theory was correct because he only had experience with the more physical aspects of medicine, the psychological types had never been his forte.

"If he's suffering from the experience why am I not the same?" Solarflare stood beside Ratchet and examined the diagnosis scan along with processor activity registration. Everything seemed to be in order but she knew from experience not everything was what it seemed in the base result of an evaluation. "Could it be because it's maybe evoking some war experiences? Humans call it Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, a lot of their soldiers suffer from it after returning from a conflict zone. We're machines but we're also sentient."

Before Ratchet could respond an alarm from the main console drew the small group's attention. Deciding it would do no harm to leave the yellow scout unchecked for a few moment the red and white mech went ahead with the rest of the bots and answered the call, hoping it would not be anything too serious. They already had one down on their side, no need to add more to the list.

As soon as the call was answered a familiar human's face greeted the Cybertronians. "Prime, you spot any Decepticons wearing any hula skirts lately?"

Ratchet and Solarflare looked at each other in a mix of confusion and disbelief and down at Radical who also shrugged and had the same expression as the two of them.

Optimus, having been taken aback for a moment, hesitated to respond for a brief second. "…No, Special Agent Fowler, why?"

"Because I was hoping you had a lead on the Cons that busted into the Kauai Naval Observatory. Place looked like it was hit by an army of wrecking balls."

When Fowler had been called due to a break-in on an observatory he hadn't though much of it, even though of telling whoever was calling him to go take a hike because that wasn't even close to his department, until he saw the resulting destruction. The door was still there, along with a giant-sized hole next to it, but the interior was a mess of broken metal, glass and jumbled cabling from various damaged pieces of equipment.

"I'll bite. What would Starscream want to do with an observatory? Unless he's trying to spot Cybertron because of some unknown reason but not even your most powerful telescopes could get a clear view of it." Solarflare was very much aware of how far they were from their home planet and of the many obstacles between the Earth and Cybertron. She had no idea if a lens was even necessary to construct another spacebridge.

"Does the Heuck Nigoghossian ring any bells?"

Radical suddenly climbed his way up Ratchet's back, startling the mech and almost getting himself planted aft on the ground. "The space telescope?"

"As of last night missing its primary lens." And some other pieces that had been torn off to give access to said lens.

"It's difficult to guess Starscream's intent without knowing where the lens has been taken." Optimus wished they still had the location of the ship from their last visit but since then whatever malfunction the vessel was experiencing had been fixed and, as a result, their location cloaked once more.

"Good thing the lens has a tracking device."

"Handy but also kind of weird." The sparkling nodded.

* * *

After everyone had been called back to base and Doomsday pried away from her precious explosives (and acidic substances that were best to stay away from) they gathered in front of the main console that displayed the location of the lens. There had been some questions regarding why Bumblebee was powered down but all questions were deflected by stating he merely needed some rest.

Upon pinpointing the lens on one of Earth's poles no one was excited at the prospect of nothing but snow and ice on all directions along with Decepticons just to sweeten the deal.

"The Arctic? Great, a good chance to freeze our sparkplugs off." Arcee crossed her arms, not liking where this mission would be taking them.

"Unless we huddle together for warmth." Airachnid took her chance to lean against Ratchet, smiling in a devious way while the mech did his best to avoid her gaze and appear unaffected by her actions.

Solarflare pushed the spider-femme away from the uncomfortable medbot and stepped in between the two, frowning at her friend who only shrugged not-so-innocently. The Maker leader had to find a way to keep those two apart that didn't involve physically tying up the femme, an option that had crossed her mind far too often.

Feeling more at ease Ratchet zoomed in on the location displayed on the screen and everyone was amazed at the size of the purple blob that appeared, indicating that underneath all that inhospitable environment laid a rich energon mine that stretched for miles.

Mayhem's optics widened and she was immediately taken back by what she was seeing. "Whoa, all that stuff buried under there is energon? That could last us for an eternity."

"That's an ND-7 class. Biggest un-mineable energon deposit there is." Said Bulkhead while nodding at the Autobot leader. He had been in construction and knew how to recognize a viable source of fuel but that thing had remained untouched from all sides due to the depth it was located at.

Optimus realized what the new Decepticon leader was up to with his latest theft from the humans. They would have to be quick and stop him before it was too late and the glacier was no more. "Un-mineable until Starscream melts his way down to it."

"With the help of the lens." Arcee finished the Prime's thoughts.

"No wonder Fowler was worried, melt a glacier that size and the humans can say goodbye to a lot of coastal cities." Silverbot could already imagine the destruction caused by all that extra water flowing into the ocean.

Deciding on the best course of action Optimus put a hand on Ratchet's shoulder. "Ratchet, you stay here along with Solarflare, Radical and Doomsday while we go to investigate what the Decepticons are up to." He then nodded to the portal as a sign for his medic to activate it.

"Why do I have to stay? I just made some brand new grenades that could make a dent in any Con." Doomsday complained.

It was true, the Forger had been hard at work improving her chemical formulas (with the occasional input from her son) and molding casings for what would become hand grenades. Her main passion was to create weapons, but mainly simpler ones like swords, and armor, yet without the proper alloys she'd gotten used to working with it wouldn't do her a lot of good to spend an awful amount of time creating something that would be unusable after a short timespan or require constant repairs. It was also more dangerous to create explosives, since she was prepared to handle higher temperatures but explosions still made quite a few dents, especially at close range.

"Unfortunately we are heading into a harsh environment and likely storming the Nemesis. You possess neither the capability of flight nor the speed to evade any airborne attacks or the eventual stumble that could send you crashing bellow the ice. It would be best you remained behind." The Autobot leader attempted to placate Doomsday. While it was true she hadn't been on any official missions with the rest of them it wasn't the best time to mark her first battle against the Decepticons.

"That's code for making sure docbot and Rad don't got at each other's neck cables like before, right?" The Forger gave a deadpan glare before holding up her servos and shaking her helm with a huff. "Whatever, go ahead, have fun without me." She then took out a grenade resembling a human one from her subspace and held it out for anyone to take it. "I'm gonna need someone to test this for me, since I won't be going. I can't remember if I made it close or long range so make sure you're at a safe-ish distance. Just pull the pin and throw immediately."

Mayhem moved to take the explosive before her servo was wacked away by Solarflare's. After that no one else stepped forward, not willing to take the risk of a homemade grenade blowing them up instead of the enemy.

"Seriously?" Doomsday made a sour face but opted to put away her creation, knowing no one else would be that curious to see what kind of damage they could cause. "I give you free weapons and no one wants them, go figure."

* * *

Upon arriving to the white landscape that stretched as far as the optic could see no one felt excited about the mission. They'd landed between two icy peaks upon stepping out of the groundbridge, hopefully not far from where the Decepticons were keeping the lens, but the scenery appeared to be melting as a result of a heatwave that made itself feel quite well.

Airachnid was the one taking the change of temperature more harshly, likely due to her more animalistic side not being adapted to walk on snow. The air did feel a bit warm so, for her, it was a balancing aspect of her visit to the wintery land, but she still felt the need to hold her appendages close to her frame and cross her arms while pulling in her shoulders to retain the maximum amount of heat possible.

"I thought the Antarctic was supposed to be super cold but the air feels really warm. Not Doomsday's forge warm but, like, good for stretching your wings warm." Mayhem commented and nodded to the dripping icicles not far from the group.

"First, it's the Arctic, different poles Mayhem, second, if there's a giant lens being used to melt through the ice, if it wasn't hot then we should definitely be worried." Silverbot hoped they could stop Starscream before it was too late and the glacier would continue to melt on its own with the heat that was already in the air.

Optimus, who had been walking in front of the group, made a sign for them to stop and pointed to the edge of the ice wall. Carefully they peered from behind the white layer to see the Nemesis flying close to the ground while a heat ray shoot a bright orange beam from above that was melting though the several layers that isolated the energon deposit from the outside.

"Yeah, that's not good." Said Bulkhead upon seeing the scene and taking note on the amount of steam emanating from where the Decepticons were aiming their heat ray. He knew they didn't have much time before hitting pay dirt so it would be an all or nothing mission.

The Prime went back to being the all and the others did the same, awaiting instructions on how to handle the situation. Thinking for a brief moment he came across an idea that could work for their advantage. "Autobots, remember the end-run on Polyhex?"

"Yes." "Yes."

"No." "No." "No."

* * *

"So then I showed my cards and the other Makers around the table were really surprised when I took all their credits. Mom couldn't stop laughing at their horrified expressions when a sparkling beat them at Praxus Fold 'Em. The best pastimes were either drinking or gambling and most of the femmes were seasoned at both so I got myself a little corner on the gambling market when I got too old to play with the other sparklings… not that here were ever that many to begin with."

The small mech excitedly recounted stories from his past to the bot deep in recharge. He'd promised to explain some more of Maker culture to the scout but hadn't gotten the chance up to that point. Radical remained seated at Bumblebee's pedes and looked up into the gray optics, awaiting for the moment where they'd turn blue once more and the mech regained consciousness so they could trade tales from the mundane aspects of their lives, comparing how their lives had been so different and yet they both had ended up in the same place.

Approaching the sparkling Ratchet resisted the urge to kneel down and treat him bellow his intelligence level. "Radical, I'm afraid Bumblebee can't hear you in power-down mode. Why don't you get some rest as well?"

"Because I told Bee I'd stay. Also, mom isn't done with the whole explosives thing and I'm right next to her." Radical chuckled while Ratchet only made a disbelieving face. "Sometimes I feel like he's part of my family too, even after growing up with Silverbot and Mayhem having an actual older brother sounds kind of nice."

"Don't be ridiculous, you're not even the same alt-type." The medbot brushed aside the notion of familial bonds between the two distinct mechs.

From her position not far from them Solarflare could only shake her helm in disbelief. "Seriously, Ratchet, you've got the empathy of a toaster."

The Maker had been monitoring the scout's vitals but, since they showed no anomalies, she'd had settled for picking up her trusty datapad and had begun reading up on the intricacies of the processors neurological functions and their relations with the psyche of a Cybertronian. That part of a bot was the most sensitive, on par with the spark itself, and unfortunately the one she had the least comprehension about. Back in the district she'd dealt mainly with the physical aspect of treatments while Parallax View had been the go-to psychologist.

Unfazed by the medbot's words Radical smiled up at him. "That's being related, it's not the same thing. Back on Cybertron it used to be just me and my mom living together, even if sometimes she left me with a lot of her friends when she had to really get to work… or mix work with a fun time. She never hid the fact I'd probably never get to literally grow up so I had to settle for being that small presence in the room, the one you'd trip over if you weren't careful because you'd forgotten I was there to begin with."

Ratchet uninterestedly nodded and mumbled a few 'yes' throughout the explanation, wishing the small mech could get on to the point as fast as possible. He wasn't one for sentimental moments that involved remembering the past, mainly because the war occupied most of his own, but Radical knew he was getting through, even if just a little, so he continued on with his point.

"Everyone towered over me and it was always noisy in the district so I had to shout to even get heard when I went out. Besides my mom, Bumblebee is the one that always listens, even when I don't say anything he somehow knows."

With no warning Radical felt someone come behind him and hug him from behind, the perpetrator pressing her faceplates to his with a smile. "Your mom would love to hear this, you know?" Solarflare had to stop herself from cooing at the adorableness emanating from the sparkling.

Radical had always been a special case after gaining his spot at Doomsday's side. Since early his survival odds had been unknown, making it an emotional risk to create bonds with him but they'd given him a chance and he'd pulled through, although with a glaring disadvantage. His problem lied deep down within his CNA coding, something no one could change, and as a result would forever remain at his current stature, unknowing if he didn't age wouldn't join the Allspark at a natural lifespan or would proceed in a natural path. Doomsday had never made an effort to hide these facts from her son, thinking it would be best if he knew the truth from the start, and he'd adapted to his best capabilities, fully aware that he likely would never be able to do certain things only an adult Cybertronian could, like getting a Conjunx Endura or even have a 'normal' job.

"Well, as much as this seems to be a supposedly touching moment there's still work to be done. I'm going to the supply vault to see if I can get parts to repair this. You know what that means?" Ratchet still seemed to be much unaffected by the tale shared by the small mech as he showed off the piece of equipment Bumblebee had broken just before going into recharge. It wasn't as if he didn't know the value of emotional bonds, they just weren't his type.

"Don't touch anything." Radical smiled at the medbot and gave a mock salute.

"I'll help, not much I can do here besides stare at a monitor anyway." Solarflare rose up and decided to tag along, just in case Radical had some more private information he'd like to share with the resting scout alone.

"Just focus on finding those parts." Ratchet waved a servo uninterestedly and began walking away.

"Please, I'm not Airachnid. She's the one after your _parts_." The Maker chuckled and caught up with the mech as he left the room. Sometimes her old self came out to say hello for a few brief moments.

"Do not remind me of that, ever."

Radical watched the two medbots walking away and disappear into the hallways and wondered if that place could ever fell truly like home. He missed all the others, his hab-suite back on Cybertron, the Praxus Fold 'Em impromptu tournaments, all the ruckus on the off-days when everyone just lazed about, got drunk and sang off-key in front of all the Makers that filled up the seats usually occupied by patrons. Even if he would always be too young to drink it felt right to see everyone happy and milling about as if they were actually normal citizens, instead of the outcasts that had to grasp at straws just to maintain the basic needs of the district fulfilled, like healthcare and energon supplies stocked.

"Sometimes I wonder if Airachnid has some sort of bet with mom, you know?" The sparkling asked the unmoving form of the Autobot scout. "Yeah, I wouldn't say anything either, those two can get really competitive."

The small Cybertronian was ready to go start telling stories about all the crazy betting polls they'd have back home when Bumblebee suddenly stepped forward with no warning, his blue optics lit up but seeming rather unfocused. The mech went up to the groundbridge's console and began inputting coordinates before activating the green vortex and heading to whatever was on the other side.

"Bumblebee!" Radical, who'd been caught by surprise and had remained silent, regained his bearings after his friend was conscious once more and realized the severity of the situation. "Wait, where are you going?!" He ran up to the entrance of the portal but didn't dare go through it on his own, having to remain behind and watch as the scout kept going ahead uninterrupted. "Bee!" He screamed, but it didn't faze the mech in the slightest.

"What did you do?!" Ratchet ran up behind the sparkling but could also only watch as the previously unconscious mech stepped out of sight. "I knew someone was messing with the groundbridge!" Mayhem had liked to joke it was akin to a sixth sense but that time it came in useful.

"Nothing! Bumblebee just got up and-"

"He was in power-down! Where does he think he's off to?"

* * *

The army of fallen Terrorcons littered the barren rocky wasteland, the weather as dark and grim as the material that had impregnated the soil during the first time he'd been there. The weather was also rather grim, dark clouds blocking any rays of sunlight that might have brightened up the scenery with the mountainous peaks looking like as if they hungered to reach higher into the darkness that settled into the atmosphere.

 _He held up the shard of dark energon, proudly displaying it._

 _The power was intoxicating, even as he thrust it down below into the ground._

 _As the Earth shattered Unicron's blood seeped though and infected the numerous casualties of the war buried under the surface._

 _She'd looked lovely, even after all that time and as terrified as she'd been there was no one compared to her beauty._

The scout looked in all directions until a small indent in the ground caught his attention as it glowed with the same ominous and familiar light. He approached it and knelt down, his gaze locking onto the shard of dark energon that emanated the energy of Unicron himself and picked it up.

Now all that was needed was a _suitable vessel_.

* * *

Soon after Bumblebee had left Ratchet went to check where exactly their scout had bridged to and was so surprised had had to look at the numbers twice before issuing a verdict. The yellow mech shouldn't even be aware of those coordinates, so how had he managed to pinpoint them so accurately?

"These are the coordinates for the site of our previous battle with Megatron's undead." Ratchet stated grimly. There could only be one more bot outside of that base that knew them.

Radical, who had climbed up to the platform behind the groundbridge console to take a better look, felt a dreadful shiver go down his back. "Maybe we should call Optimus."

"Optimus is busy preventing a polar icecap from melting, we need to handle this on our own."

The medbot pulled lever to open their groundbridge once more to the site of the Terrorcon battle and readied to go through to the other side and face another battle, when the mech he'd prepared to go meet came back with an eerily calm air that didn't sit well with him.

"Bumblebee, what have you been doing?" Ratchet asked but go no answer. It was then that he saw what the scout was holding onto and grabbed his arm in an attempt to, sadly confirm his suspicions. "Dark energon. Why would-" The medbot couldn't finish his sentence before he received a rather nasty punch from Bumblebee with enough force to send him crashing into the platform Radical was perched upon.

"Bee, what are you doing?!" Radical felt tears welling up in his optics as the scout approached him. When Bumblebee grasped him by the back he struggled to get loose but there would be no way he could reach behind his own back to pry himself free from the hold. "You have to fight whatever's making you do this!" The sparkling begged but his pleas went unanswered and then he found himself being forcefully shoved atop of a ventilation panel, high enough so that if he were to jump down there would be some pain since his frame remained undeveloped, aside from the one he was currently feeling.

It was at that moment Doomsday arrived, having already used up all her supply of explosives and wanting to ask Ratchet if they had anything else she could use or mix up to restock until she could convince Fowler to supply her with more, but she hadn't expected the current scenario. As soon as she stepped into the main room she only saw Bumblebee run into a groundbridge and the green vortex closing right behind him, Ratchet attempting to pick himself off the floor and her son perched up high on a vent.

The medbot groaned in pain as he got up, using the bridge's controls as a support he managed to get back on his pedes and didn't even need to look to know Bumblebee was long gone. Their scout had been acting odd and he was to blame for not picking up on it sooner or having done anything that could have prevented him to get out of power-down mode and doing whatever it was he was up to.

"Ratchet, are you ok?" Radical saw the amount of pain the mech was likely under and grimaced at his own, having been shoved rather uncaringly against the vent in order to deter him from following his friend into the groundbridge.

"I'm fine. More importantly is Bumblebee." Ratchet pushed aside the concerns for his health.

"Ok… what did I miss?" The Forger didn't know what to say about what she'd just seen and could only go to pick up her son in her confused state when she noticed the obvious chipped paint. "What happened here, are you alright?" She asked with a great amount of concern for Radical's state.

"I fear the time spent in Megatron's mindscape is causing him to think like a Decepticon." Ratchet attempted to answer the femme's questions as he regained the ability to think straight. He'd have to determine where the yellow mech had went this time.

"Bee's not a Con!" Radical shouted, startling his Carrier who still would not give up her hold on him.

"I agree, but we need to find out exactly what Bumblebee intends to do with that shard. The only one who knew about it was Megatron…"

"Megatron is possessing Bumblebee?!" Radical dislodged himself from Doomsday's hold and ran up to ratchet, who was looking up the coordinates for Bumblebee's destination.

"Oh… Oh!" Suddenly it dawned upon the femme what must have happened and the amount of danger they were in. "Sainted Solus, what do we do?!"

"How could I have been such a fool? The cortical psychic patch acted as a two-way conduit, when Bumblebee returned to his own mind Megatron followed. And now Bumblebee, Megatron, has bridged to nearly the same coordinates Optimus used." Ratchet pulled lever to open another vortex and gestured for the Forger to follow him. "Doomsday, come with, Radical, stay here."

Doomsday nodded but Radical wasn't having any of it.

"No. Bumblebee needs me." He said with conviction.

"But-"

"Please, I know he does." The sparkling interrupted his Carrier's words.

It was already hard enough to accept his friend was possessed by their greatest enemy but to not have spoken up sooner about his changing personality had been the wrong thing to do. Radical wished most of all to help and undo the damage Megatron could be doing inside Bumblebee's psyche and would not be silenced or barred from bringing back his friend from the grip of the Decepticon Lord's hold.

The Forger sighed but knelt down anyway and pushed her 'dreads' aside, making a motion all too familiar with her helm. "Climb on."

The three bots hurried through the groundbridge, knowing their destination was likely the inside of the Nemesis, a place filled with Vehicons willing to shoot at anything that moved and any Autobot or Maker that dared to go in was a prime subject for moving target practice.

Not long after the Cybertronians departed another one came into view. Solarflare entered the now empty main room, in her servo a few pieces of metal that she'd been off to look for before Ratchet had left her alone, quoting some sort of veiled threat at the 'meddlesome sparkling who couldn't keep his servos to himself'.

"Hello? Ratchet, I found the parts." The seeker looked confused around the place but found herself realizing she'd been left alone. "Where did everyone go?"

* * *

Meanwhile, unaware of the trespassing bots inside the Nemesis, Starscream, accompanied by Knock Out, watched from atop of the vessel as the heat ray he'd built melted though the ice with ease, creating a pleasantly warm atmosphere. Finally, he'd proven to be more cunning than Megatron and when they got their servos on the energon reserves down below nothing would stand on their way and soon those pesky Autobots, along with the Makers, would crumble under his might.

"Yes! I love when a plan comes together." The seeker gloated mainly to himself. At that moment nothing could ruin his- were hat sounds of an engine he heard? Looking down at the glacier he saw the wrecker and the two-wheeler heading their way at high speed. "Autobots." He spat out, despise heavily coating his voice.

"Please, Lord Starscream, allow your Second in Command the honor." Knock Out took a mock bow then gestured to the heavy-duty mech behind him and pointed to the intruding Autobots. "Breakdown, total them!"

The assistant to the vain medbot did not even hesitate and broke into a run, jumping at the edge of the ship and laughing in anticipation for the fight. Breakdown neared the ground at a fast speed but before he could make the desired impact on the icy surface a jet crashed into him, deviating him off-course and sending him into an undignified roll across the snow.

Mayhem had braced herself for the impact but it still left a few dents when she made contact with the Decepticon. She slowed down and transformed to bipedal mode in the air while her enemy landed a good way ahead of her and with a much more painful landing. She was joined by Bulkhead and Arcee and, when their enemy finally regained his footing, he was faced with a three-on-one all-out brawl.

While their teammates distracted the Decepticons, hidden behind the tall mountain of ice Silverbot and Optimus prepared themselves to storm the topside of the Nemesis and take down the machine with the stolen telescope lens before it was too late.

"You know what to do, Silverbot." Optimus nodded to the triple-changer. It was going to be a ride of a lifetime.

"Just hang on tight and be ready for a lot of noise, I'm not exactly the silent type." Silverbot calmed his cooling fans and steadied his spark before assuming jet form.

The pair went unnoticed by the enemies flying up above them and with the element of surprise on their side they'd be able to catch them unawares and save humanity's coastal cities from annihilation.

* * *

When the three bots stepped outside the groundbridge they were greeted with the expected sight of the darkened hallways of the Nemesis but, fortunately, there were no Vehicons to sound the alarms and alert the higher ups about the invasion of their ship.

"The Decepticon warship." Ratchet whispered to the two Makers next to him.

Looking around to get the feel of her surroundings Doomsday grimaced at the drab color and harsh edges. "Yeah, this place screams 'obey me or else' loud and clear."

The medbot took off with no answer and the Forger had no choice but to follow him, minding the sparkling hanging onto her back. If they happened to be ambushed from behind Radical was at a disadvantage since he'd take the brunt of the shots that would likely be fired at them.

Just as they rounded the corner they came across Vehicon soldiers littering the floor, either passed out or offlined none of the three had any idea.

"Did Bumblebee do this?" Asked Radical.

"I fear Megatron's mind is dominant and clearly he came here for one purpose. To use the dark energon to resurrect himself." Ratchet did not like the idea in the slightest. The warlord was supposed to have perished in the spacebridge explosion and finally let the universe be at peace.

"No, Bumblebee won't let him! Like he didn't let Megatron hurt me back at the base."

"You know I like to encourage you but this seems like the job of a bot far too gone into the deep end." Doomsday wished as hard as she could she was wrong but, from the looks of it, getting Radical's hopes up could set him up for a sparkbreaking disappointment.

"That's what I'm afraid of." The sparkling held tighter to his Carrier in fear of what they could find.

They kept going forward quietly, taking care not to trip on any of the Vehicons, and peered through the open door. They saw Bumblebee plugging himself into an end of the cortical psychic patch while the other was already attached to Megatron's still operational frame, it seemed Arcee had not finished the job after all. It was time to act either now or risk the worst case scenario where Megatron did come back from the dead to torment them once more.

Ratchet ran up ahead to try and stop the 'resurrection' process before it was too late and Doomsday followed suit, gently shaking off the sparkling so he let go and she could fight unencumbered.

"Don't hurt Bumblebee!" Begged Radical as he was left behind while the adult Cybertronians attempted to disrupt the process.

The medbot attempted to take a swing at the scout but the possessed mech managed to dodge and punched him on his mid-section, sending Ratchet flying straight into the wall and temporarily taking him down. Bumblebee did not have time to recover from the surprise assault when one of his servos ended up trapped in a whip all of the sudden. He pulled but Doomsday held her ground by pulling back before letting her grip on the floor go and went along with the momentum of the pull, sliding right behind the mech and pulling on the handle of her weapon, making the puppeteered scout punch himself. Before the femme could cry in her small victory Bumblebee then grabbed onto the whip with both servos and pulled in an arch, causing the Forger to lift off the ground and painfully land on her back, unable to move though the momentary pain.

With both bots out of the picture for the time being the controlled mech pulled out the dark energon crystal and prepared to put it to use.

"Bumblebee, no!" Radical ran up to his friend who looked back at the small mech. "Remember who you are, remember me. I know you always listen to me no matter what!" He begged, attempting desperately to clasp at straws and bring back the original mind of the yellow mech.

Bumblebee's optics became more focused as he beeped in confusion at what he was doing before he felt himself almost drifting off again. It became a battle of wills there and then as both minds struggled to control the frame, with his optics dilating and contracting as his consciousness fought valiantly to regain charge.

"That's right Bee, it's me!" The sparkling was glad his friend wasn't lost inside his own processor anymore.

Then Bumblebee began to sway on his pedes and fell to his knees, still struggling to keep control over his own body. He calmed down and lifted his helm to look at Radical before extinguishing the sparkling's hopes and swatting him aside. He looked back to see Ratchet had managed to get back up and was attempting to meddle with the life-support equipment.

"Farewell, Megatron." Said the medbot as he disconnected the main cable, the one connected to the warmonger's spark.

In a rage the scout launched himself at Ratchet and in one swoop threw him over his shoulder and into Doomsday, who'd just started herself to get back up. The two bots groaned in pain at the impact but did not give up trying to get back up, even though they barely managed to hold themselves above the ground.

"Bumblebee!" Rad yelled in distress while he attempted to get back on his pedes as well. "As much as I want you to leave Bumblebee's body… I can't let you back on your own!" Gathering his strengths he ran up to try and get a hold of the cortical psychic patch but was grabbed mid-air, getting a good look at the empty icy blue optics, and thrown back at the two other bots.

" _Bumblebee can't hear you anymore."_

Bumblebee climbed up to be at level with the warlord's sparkchamber, lifted up the shard and, without hesitation, plunged it into the open sparkchamber, letting the lifeblood of Unicron run through the Decepticon's system.

Megatron lived once more.

He opened his (own) optics and rose from the medical slab, towering over the fearful bots before him, and stepped forward confidently.

Bumblebee and Ratchet took steps back in fear while Doomsday picked up Radical to perch him onto her back but could not go further due to the wall behind them. They were trapped between a wall and a possibly enraged Decepticon Lord.

A group of Vehicons came rushing to see what all the noise was about when they saw their leader back from the Allspark and cowered instantly. The warlord had beaten death itself and that feat alone made him seem more invincible than any other bot in existence.

"Decepticons, your rightful Lord and Master has returned!" Megatron looked at the fearful groups of bots, one under his command and the other... He began walking away, one goal alone on his mind. "Finish these Autobot pests and imprison the Makers, I have my own extermination to perform."

The wall of Vehicons parted to let their master through and immediately after began shooting at the enemies that had managed to get through the Nemesis' defenses. With Megatron heading the Decepticons once again everything would go back to the rigid structure of command and no one wished to anger the warlord any further.

Ratchet dove for cover in a familiar vent while Doomsday and Bumblebee covered for him, managing to take out a few of the Vehicons but soon more appeared to cover for the fallen ones. The two saw they wouldn't be able to hold out for long and followed the medbot in his retreat. They'd need to find a way out of that ship and fast before everyone and their Carrier was on the lookout for them.

* * *

While the group of bots stormed the ship up the air, down below in the frozen landscape two Autobots and two Makers held their ground against a Decepticon.

Arcee deployed her blades and ran up to her enemy, jumping high, making use of her lightweight frame, in hopes the descent would help in injuring the mech but was easily caught and thrown far to the side. She managed to regain her balance and land on her pedes, sliding over the snow until she came to a stop. They really would freeze their sparkplugs off by the end of it if they weren't careful.

Mayhem took advantage of the distraction provided by Arcee and took out her hammer, hoping to score a home-run with Breakdown's helm as she broke into a run at him. Unfortunately she suddenly felt light-headed, as if her processor was swimming in a deep pool, and faltered letting Breakdown catch onto her plan, by virtue of the extra second of delay, and duck, making her miss and keep her trajectory, giving him an opening to take out his own hammer and hit her in the back, causing her to fall down and roll away in the white snow.

Airachnid emerged from the ice bellow from her initial hiding spot and attempted to trap the Decepticon but her systems were suffering from the freezing temperatures and her movements were slowed down enough so the Decepticon could evade the spider-femme attempting to trap him and pick her up by her neck, throwing her away just like he'd done with Arcee.

Seeing himself free of distractions, Breakdown ran up to Bulkhead, who had his wrecking ball drawn and ready for action, and raised his hammer above his helm.

"I'm gonna put you on ice!" Yelled out the blue heavy-duty mech in glee.

As the two weapons clashed the force produced from that meeting was so intense that a crack appeared parallel to the impact, cutting through the frozen ground bellow them in an instant, but neither mech cared about the danger of it.

Up above on top of the Nemesis Starscream and Knock Out observed the battle from a safe distance, none of the two caring to intervene and put their chassis on the line. Whatever power they'd gained had rushed to their helms and they felt above such menial tasks as fighting their own battles, preferring to let others perform the task for them.

Something had been bothering the Decepticon medic for a while, but he hadn't been able to put his digit on it until it dawned on him. "Don't the Bots seem… understaffed?" He asked, not seeing the Prime or the remainder of the Makers.

Starscream was about to say something when they heard the loud rumble of a powerful jet engine. A Cybertronian more-than-heavy-duty engine.

Silverbot flew above the Decepticon ship with great speed, Optimus hanging onto his wings with remarkable strength, and, as soon as they were at a suitable height, he transformed back into his bipedal mode and they fell back down, landing on top of the Nemesis, breaking into a run to dismantle the weapon as fast as possible.

"What good is a Second in Command who fails to watch the rear?!" Starscream was both furious and in panic. He pushed Knock Out aside and jumped onto the controls of the weapon he'd created, kicking the Vehicon off the seat. Pressing a few buttons in a hurry he watched in satisfaction as the ray moved its position to focus on the intruders.

Silverbot ran up ahead and put himself between the heat ray and Optimus, bearing the brunt of the impact. "Go! Use me as a platform and jump!" Yelled the triple-changer.

The Autobot leader grabbed onto the triple-changer's shoulders and pulled himself up before positioning his pedes up on them as well and let out a war cry as he soared though the air, blade drawn and ready to strike.

"NO!" The self-appointed Decepticon leader knew it couldn't be happening, that his plan was supposed to have elevated him beyond Megatron's glory and not end in another failure.

There was an explosion after that, one that emitted a blinding light and blew away the bots standing bellow along with the two that attacked up above, they were swept away by the force of the explosion that may have lasted seconds but had quite the impact.

Silverbot had been the first to land on his back on the icy ground, dazed by both the impact and the violence of the explosion, and he'd been alright… until the Prime landed square on top of him soon after.

"Optimus!" Arcee attempted to reach for the beaten Autobot leader

"Don't worry, I think I broke his fall." Silverbot groaned weakly. His sister always did stupid things and she never ended up in a state near the one he was in.

"Silver, you alright?" Mayhem barely had a visual on her brother as she sat up, shaking some loose snow off her wings.

"… I guess."

Airachnid used the heavy-duty seeker as a support to help her get back on her pedes and saw the state the triple-changer was in. "Flare's gonna offline me for this."

Out of nowhere a jet was heard coming closer and, since the bot capable of flight were on the ground, it could only be a Decepticon. The Autobots and Makers looked up to see Starscream nosediving from between the clouds towards the Prime and readying to deploy one of his missiles.

"Megatron's greatest mistake was ever allowing you to live, Prime!" The seeker could not be more furious. His plan, his glorious and ingenious plan, thwarted by a ragtag team of Autobots and Makers was something he'd never forget and would make sure the target of his ire paid greatly for the blow dealt to his ego.

Just as the missile was about to be deployed by the Decepticon another jet, a heavier type model, crashed into him and brought him back up in towards the Nemesis, roughly shoving Starscream off-course with no care or fear of the consequences. _He_ was the one Starscream should be worried about.

"Megatron." Optimus whispered ominously as the two seekers made a path to the vessel flying up above in the air.

Silverbot groaned in despair and felt his spark clench. "Solus damn his spark to the Pit."

"Another reason for Flare to offline us." Airachnid sighed and looked up at Mayhem only to notice the younger femme was looking rather woozy. "You alright? Didn't think seeing the big mech in person would make you that queasy, especially after the spacebridge incident."

The seeker rubbed a servo over her faceplates and steadied herself, feeling her vigor returning. "No… I just feel like something's not right." She attempted to brush off the concerns from the spider-femme.

Starscream landed on top of the Nemesis in his bipedal form, unsure of what had happened until the larger mech landed in front of him in his full fear-inducing glory. Deep red optics stared down at the cowering seeker with vengeance in mind, hungering for retribution for what he'd done in order to step up on the chain of command. If the mech hadn't outlived his usefulness the consequences would be rather fatal so only something brushing that end could be administered as punishment.

"Lord Megatron… You are… You're healed! Praise the Allspark, it is a miracle!" Starscream couldn't bring himself to stand up due to his quivering legs, only weakly attempt to push himself away from the smoldering angry gaze of his leader.

"Oh, it will be a miracle alight, Starscream… if you survive what I have planned for you!" Threatened the rightful Decepticon Lord.

Frightened, the double-crossing seeker transformed and attempted to flee, only for Megatron to grab him by the tail and toss him back against the metal of the ship. There would be no escape from the ire of Lord Megatron, ex-gladiator supreme of Kaon and Lord of the feared Decepticon army.

Once again Starscream found himself back on the ground begging for mercy that he was sure wouldn't come. "But the Autobots… Optimus… right there, waiting for you!" He attempted to distract the warlord with the promise of extinguishing his enemy's sparks but for that moment it wouldn't do him any favors to point that out with him being the one most hated at the moment.

"My greatest mistake? I've made a few. But there is _one_ I do not intend to make again!" Megatron grabbed Starscream by the helm and began dragging him back into the Nemesis, dragging him through the metal floor with great satisfaction

"N-no! Master! NOOOOOO!"

Back on the ground the Autobots and Makers heard the distant pleas for mercy and watched as the Nemesis began to turn and fly away from the scene. It was hard to hear a voice that carried such pain but he'd caused them enough for them to be desensitized to a degree. They didn't know if the seeker would survive but there was nothing any of them could do at the moment to save him from the wrath of Megatron.

Optimus could only resign himself to leave Starscream's fate up to the universe and suppressed a sigh. Their greatest enemy that day had fallen far enough from his perch in a heap on the deepest pit. "Ratchet, we need a bridge." The Autobot leader commed the medbot. Only time would tell what would become of the backstabbing seeker.

"You are not the only ones." Ratchet's voice came from behind them.

Surprised, the whole team turned around to see the Autobot medic walking towards them along with Bumblebee, Doomsday and even Radical.

"Mayhem, I stormed the Nemesis too!" The sparkling smiled and waved at the others from his position perched on his the scout's shoulders.

"Yeah… Flare's gonna love this one…" The Forger sighed before opening a comm link channel and bracing herself for a long questioning session about her better judgement. "Heyyyy… could you, I don't know, maybe bridge the whole team back to base?"

* * *

"The most irresponsible thing I have ever seen from you! And that is saying a lot, considering you last experiment with acid and explosives!" Solarflare bellowed at the Forger who kept her helm down with a sheepish expression. "Sometimes I wonder what you were thinking when-"

"You realize that I don't… Yeah, you've used that one a few times on me already." The femme interrupted the Maker leader's rant and attempted to laugh it off. "It was a long shot but Radical's fine, we're all fine."

"Speak for yourself!" Silverbot shouted from his place on the medical berth.

Solarflare attempted to pick up where she'd left off but could say anything else, holding her words until she ended up huffing menacingly before throwing her arms up, servos making clawing motions, and turning around to check on her son who'd come back with a few dents from having Optimus land on top of him after landing harshly on the ground in the first place.

Doomsday let out a breath of relief before taking a look at her son that'd been waiting patiently for Bumblebee to be given the clear. When the scout had finally stepped of the machine Radical hadn't given him the chance to take three steps forwards before jumping up and giving the scout a hug. Everything seemed to be coming back to the usual norm, even it that included Megatron coming back and commanding the Decepticons once more, and, in a way, the Forger was glad they'd regained some sense of normalcy.

"Everything's back to normal. Well, normal for Bumblebee." Ratchet informed the rest of the group. There should be no residual evidence the warlord had even entered their scout's mind and puppeteered him in order to resurrect himself.

"Glad to know he's still able to kick some more Con tailpipe in the future." Mayhem smiled at the two embracing mechs, one small, one big, and both with an incredible friendship.

"Just, no more trips into anyone's mind, if you would all agree." Solarflare leaned against Silverbot who'd managed to get his Carrier to let him sit up on the medical berth. "And storming the Nemesis while we're at it too."

Bumblebee beeped and nodded in agreement and gave his best attempt of a smile at Radical before saying something else.

"You're welcome." The sparkling smiled back at the scout.

* * *

 **AN: Yay for me, 12.5k words!**


	26. Dimensional traveler

**AN: I took too long to come out with this one but I had a hard time getting in the mood to write because, to me, this episode is kind of boring... yeah, the zombie chase episode is boring, go figure. I almost had this as just one chapter but then I noticed it was going rather well and I don't want another long chapter after these last two... Because I am writing another mega chapter for Solarflare's past! That** **'s** **right, from sparklinghood to to having Silverbot and Mayhem I promise it will have all but there is no release date for it as of yet.**

* * *

The Nemesis medbay hadn't seen that much use from high-ranking bots since the height of the war for Cybertron. Vehicons were the norm as far as coming and going in and out of the (torture) room but the main medical berth where Megatron once laid entranced in an almost perpetual dream now was used by the badly damaged SIC.

Starscream twitched in pain. Every joint ached, his paintjob was more than scratched and dented, along with the badly bruised ego that had been pounded down along with his frame. He couldn't even properly rest though the pain and humiliation he felt deep seated in his mind, his marred psyche unable to settle down after the beat-down at the servos of his superior. The physical scratches didn't compare to the mental ones, the words thrown at him with every punch, every kick, permanently engraved like a ghost whisper in his audios, constantly reminding him that he would always be a failure in the optics of the rightful leader of the Decepticons.

Heavy footsteps approached the mistreated seeker, who opened his optics wide, barely holding in the urge to flinch in fear. His greatest nightmare was all too real and every fiber of his being cowered before the large mech before him.

"Resting comfortably, Starscream?" The question was a rhetoric one, with Megatron clearly enjoying the sight of the one who'd come very close to snuffing out his spark for good. Twice. Yes, Soundwave had informed him of the SIC's attempt at removing the life-support machinery that enabled him to survive despite the lack of dark energon. "Despite the extent of your injuries my medical staff assures me that you shall make a rapid recovery." But with life-long scars to remind the seeker of who belonged where in the command chain.

"Hopefully as rapid as your wrath is swift." Starscream barely managed to hold himself upright and coughed, his chassis sore and clearly still heavily damaged from a rather powerful stomp to where his spark laid beneath.

Megatron laughed, seeing someone who'd attempted to usurp his rightful spot brought down and reduced to a pitiful sight of pleading had improved his mood after such a long period of stasis. "And how swiftly things change. To think that but a short time ago it was you that was standing here while I was lying there, right after your failed attempt to terminate me. But know this, Starscream, our positions shall never again be reversed." The warlord began walking away, not even looking back at the mech lying on the medical berth. He was not worth _anything_ as far as he was concerned. Weak and frail, undeserving of the greatness of acknowledgement by the great Decepticon Lord.

Starscream watched as Megatron exited the room and snarled just as the bigger mech was out of sight. He swore vengeance upon the one who'd done this to him and ripped away the life-support equipment in anger. The war was not over yet. He would not be defeated, not when he'd held onto his spark for so long and he would not offline without realizing his purpose of becoming the greatest Decepticon leader and ruler of Cybertron.

The seeker got up on shaky pedes (almost too unstable to even walk) and slowly limped to the door and out of the medbay, passing Knock Out who was busy reading information on a datapad outside the medbay.

While usually uncaring about the drones that, after a fight with the Autobots or the targets of a very angry Megatron, had the misfortune of gracing his medbay, the medic could not in his right mind let this one slide. "Starscream, have you lost your senses? You haven't fully recuperated."

"I feel fine, Knock Out, never better, you're an incredible physician, now step out of the way!" The SIC hurriedly barked at the medbot and pushed him away with a mixture of exasperation and anger.

Starscream continued limping down the hallways of the Nemesis while ignoring his pressing injuries, each step accompanied by a stab of pain. He had to do something to begin anew his pursuit of his title as Lord Starscream, commander of all Decepticons and most powerful mech in all the universe.

He took a look around to see if anyone had followed him and, when he was sure no stray Vehicons were roaming about, he reached down to pick up the dark energon shard from its hiding place. The same shard he'd removed from Megatron's sparkchamber during the first attempt on his life among the spacebridge's debris.

"Dark energon might have replenished your strength, master, but how could you forget that you never reclaimed your original shard." He mused aloud. "Once the blood of Unicron flows through my veins our positions shall be reversed."

* * *

"She shoots and she scores!" Mayhem cheered for herself upon winning the online PVP match of the shooter game. "This femme is on fire and no one can stop her!"

"I can." Radical warned from his lower standing point at the pedes of the seeker, clearly unamused by her antics. "It's my turn now."

"My team is going for another round so it's still my turn." She retorted smugly and took her seat again in front of the screen.

"Come on, you've been hogging the console since Saturday."

"Just this one more and I swear I'm done."

"Liar." Silverbot nonchalantly called as he entered the room.

"You stay out of this!"

While the younger generation debated the fairness of sharing the main source of their amusement the others gathered around the main screen where a dot appeared to be moving through the Nevada desert at a relative high speed.

"I had hoped that my growing expertise on the subject would remain purely academic but, though faint, this is clearly a dark energon signature and it's moving fast." Ratchet commented with Optimus as they observed the target they'd locked onto.

"Megatron." The Autobot leader noted grimly.

The Decepticon leader had just got back into action and was already orchestrating a plan revolving around Unicron's lifeblood. Optimus knew they'd have to deal with the warlord sooner or later but this was definitely too soon. It seemed the time Megatron had spent locked inside his own mind must have been used to contemplate plans to destroy anyone that stood in his energon-stained path.

"Where did he find more of the bad stuff?" Arcee wondered how such a rare substance managed to keep reappearing on that little planet on the edge of the galaxy.

"And what's he gonna do with it, recruit a new army of the undead?" Bulkhead uttered the big question on everyone's mind.

"Zombiecons?" At the mention of one of her obsessions, Mayhem turned around to look hopefully at the older bots. "Please, oh please, can I go with you?"

"No!" Solarflare quickly shut down the avenue of conversation.

"But mom…"

The white and green femme made a shushing motion and the heavy-duty seeker ceased her pleading instantly. "I said no and you'll be glad I won't lock you in your quarters."

Mayhem crossed her arms in a huff. This wasn't over, at least not yet. She had a backup plan.

"We cannot rule out that possibility, Bulkhead, especially since Megatron seems to be heading to a familiar site. He has barely emerged from stasis and it seems he's already making up for lost time. Bulkhead, Bumblebee, Ratchet, Doomsday, prepare to roll out." Optimus wanted to take Silverbot along but he had the inkling Solarflare would not let that happen.

"Me?" Ratchet was genuinely surprised. If they were going to be fighting the number one Decepticon how could he be of assistance?

"If we are dealing with dark energon I may well require your expertise. Solarflare will remain here as a backup medic and to make sure Mayhem doesn't get into trouble."

"Scrap." Mayhem whispered. Well, at least plan B could still be in motion if her accomplice was up to it.

"If I'm going what about-" Doomsday looked around and, not finding the familiar face she was searching for she let out a defeated sigh. "Airachnid… Figures, whenever you need her she disappears." Lifting a servo to her comm she attempted to reach her would-be partner. "Hey, where are you? Hello? Any scary spider femmes on the line?" When no response came though the Forger resigned herself and huffed in frustration. "Nothing. Great, I'm fighting solo and possibly against the big bad Con himself. Hurray for me."

"You've still got me, I could go." Silverbot offered up.

"You are also not going." Solarflare would not be letting her son go against Megatron if she had any say in it. Not now or ever, for that matter.

"Yeah… no offense, but call me when you're about my size and really flexible with enough fighting experience to back it up, sweetspark." The orange femme headed to join the rest of the deployed team by the groundbridge site.

"Well, offense slightly taken."

"Arcee…" Optimus turned to the resident two-wheeler.

"Bridge operator, got it." She nodded to the Autobot leader and headed to her post at the control panel.

"Go get them, Bulkhead, bring the hurt." Mayhem uninterestedly encouraged her friend while going back to the console. Plan B could be going into motion any time now…

"She's up to something." Silverbot whispered mostly to himself and sat down next to his sister. If she was going to make another break for it he'd at least be close enough to tackle her.

Arcee logged in the coordinates where their target had stopped and turned on the groundbridge. The Autobot team transformed into their alt-modes and took off into the green vortex while Doomsday ran up behind them and jumped, landing right on top of Optimus. She'd never much liked running while the others drove at a clearly higher speed.

Just as the team exited the base Mayhem put down the controller and placed herself in the line of sight of her Carrier, servos on her hips and a noticeable frown on her faceplates. "Happy?"

Solarflare crossed her arms and looked up at her daughter. "Very."

No one noticed the missing bot when the bridge closed.

* * *

Starscream landed on a familiar site. A place where his reign began to collapse, with the refusal of the previously slumbering Decepticon warrior and along with the discovery that Megatron had survived the explosion. Everything seemed so obvious now but back then he'd been careless, so sure of his leadership skills that he'd failed to look out for the obvious. Oh, how he wished to go back and undo the reckless mistakes that now pained him greatly.

"Ah, the gravesite of the mighty Skyquake. So quick to reject my authority while you lived." The Decepticon SIC took out his dark energon shard and contemplated his plan one final time. Yes, he would yet reign supreme over that miserable planet and every lifeform on it, Cybertronian included. "But, as the first of my reanimated warriors you shall bow to my command."

Taking the blood of Unicron in his servos, Starscream broke it into two and immediately a dark mist began enveloping the now two shards. Tossing one of the halves into a space between the rocks that marked the gravesite he then took the other and pierced his spark with it, letting the noxious power corrupt him just as it had done for Megatron.

"Yes… Power of dark energon, be mine!" It was intoxicating, the greatness he could achieve with this newfound abilities to control the undead would give him access to an infinite supply of warriors devoted to their only master. "Symbiosis! I can feel it! Rise, Skyquake, rise!"

Just as the rush was subsiding a groundbridge opened up behind him but Starscream was too busy imagining what he could accomplish with the power of the dark energon as his disposal.

The Autobots and the Maker came through and were very surprised to see the familiar seeker dabbling in the same toxic substance as his master and they were so busy with their amazement that they failed to notice they had an extra member coming along just behind them.

Radical exited the green vortex a good way behind the team with quick but silent movements. He made sure their footsteps muffled his own as he strategically hid behind a small mound of rocks big enough to hide him and took out a holopad. Mayhem had promised that, if there ever was a zombie mission she wasn't allowed on, all he had to do was sneak in on it and take a few pictures and she'd stop hogging the console for an entire month. A big risk for such a small reward but sometimes the reason why he did anything evaded him. Maybe he was just into the whole thrill of the danger or he'd picked up the disregard for his life from his Carrier. Either way, he was already there and couldn't turn back now.

"Starscream! Stand down!" Optimus warned as he deployed his blaster.

Megatron may have been more dangerous but he knew what he dealt with when it came to dark energon, while Starscream could be rather erratic and unpredictable when being dealt with. If there was one for backstabbing and double-crossing the mech in front of the team was at the very top of the chain.

"Autobots! You stand down!" The Decepticon aimed his missile and fired at the uninvited guests to the resurrection of is first follower, making them take cover being nearby boulders. "You cannot harm me while dark energon flows through my veins!" He took aim once more and prepared to fire the other projectile but Optimus beat him to it and blew his arm off with one shot. "Gah! My arm!" He yelled out and quickly ran to pick up his dismembered limb, taking cover as well. Why was he not invulnerable?!

"You clipped his wing, he's grounded." Bulkhead nodded to his leader and deployed his blaster, abandoning his cover to try and capture the enemy.

"You heard the mech, let's go!" Doomsday took out her whip and followed. She'd never been that good of a shot, preferring to get close to her opponents in order to take them down.

The remaining three Autobots had no choice but to follow, their weapons ready to face up against the dark energon user. He may have been grounded but he could still cause serious damage if they got caught with their guard down.

"Come on, come on, rise already!" Starscream yelled at the tomb, but, with the opposing team closing in on him he had no choice but to abandon the site. Let his underling deal with them if he ever chose to come back to life. "This is commander Starscream requesting emergency groundbridge to my coordinates."

With all the commotion going on Radical attempted to peak from behind his hiding place but tripped on a rock and fell let out a yelp as he fell to his knees. "Gah!" When he got back up and looked ahead he saw the others looking at him with flabbergasted faceplates. "Erm… hi, mom?" He awkwardly laughed off his presence as if it was not big deal. He was so caught red-handed.

"Rad? What in Solus' name are you doing here?!" Doomsday splayed out her arms and gestured towards her son.

"Arcee, send a groundbridge immediately. It seems young Radical decided to come along." Optimus was quick to request an emergency exit to the stowaway on their mission.

The requested groundbridge opened up on the same place as the last one but, at the same time, another one popped up near Starscream, confusing all the bots present at the site. Well, that clearly couldn't be good.

"Two?" Ratchet knew that theoretically two groundbridges could clash with each other and generate an event of sort but he had no idea exactly what. It would be best for the small mech to go away as fast as possible. "You, into our groundbridge, now!"

"Scrap." Radical swore but obeyed, none the less, and went into the swirling green vortex. He had no photos and would likely be punished by Solarflare.

Starscream had wasted no time and ran to his way back to safety, immediately jumping in at top speed, not even taking the time to notice why his opponents seemed so distracted.

The exact moment the sparkling had disappeared into his way back to base the two vortex's began interacting and noticeable began gathering up energy. The tensions rose as the powers solidified and merged in the air between the groundbridges, akin to a quiet before the coming storm, ready to take out everything in its way.

"Ratchet, what is happening?" Optimus had never seen such an event occur and could not act without understanding what was happening.

Ratchet was very afraid. Not only did he not have "The dueling groundbridge portals must be feeding back on each other!"

"My Radical!" Doomsday shouted in panic and took off in a run, attempting to rescue her son from being affected by whatever was happening.

"We gotta get the kid out of there!" Bulkhead went alongside the Forger.

The two ran to the vortex where the small mech had disappeared into and were about to jump in before a blast knocked them onto their backs and a following explosion blasted them away along with the others.

As the dust settled the Autobots and the Maker slowly regained their footing and got back up along with a certain someone who had disappeared on his way to the base.

"Owww, my processor is killing me…" Radical clutched his helm and attempted to shake off the dizziness affect him. He'd been heading back to the base when a sudden explosion knocked him back into the Nevada desert.

"Wha- what just happened?" Bulkhead helped Doomsday stand back up and took a look around to see what kind of destruction the blast had caused.

"I can't be certain, but if two groundbridges sent to the same coordinates crossed streams the feedback could have triggered a system overload." Explained Ratchet.

"But Radical made it through right?" The Forger couldn't see her son anywhere and hoped he'd made it home safe.

"No, I'm right here!" The small mech yelled out and waved his arms as he got closer to his Carrier. Couldn't they see him?

"Arcee, did Radical made it back safely to base?" Optimus commed the team Prime member he'd left in charge of the groundbridge.

"Negative, you don't see him?" Arcee had been worried when the portal had suddenly crashed and no one had come through but she'd figured the sparkling to have remained behind.

"No…" Doomsday was looking around from one side to the other but there was no sign of her sweetspark anywhere. Where was he…?

"Hello?! I'm here!" Yelled the sparkling as he attempted to calm himself. "Doesn't anyone see me?!"

"My precious ray of sunshine couldn't be…" She ran to the place where the portal had disappeared to take a closer look. He had to be around there, somewhere for sure.

"Wait!" Radical braced himself for impact but his Carrier never made contact, phasing right through him. Noticing he hadn't been knocked back he opened his optics in surprise and looked at his servos. "What the… Am I offline…? No, there's got be another explanation, ghosts don't exist."

The Forger brought her hands to her faceplates and attempted to calm down, repressing the urge to cry, even though her frame had begun to shake. Now was the time to be calm and think rationally, panicking wouldn't do her any good or her son.

Optimus went up to the femme and put a comforting servo on her shoulder. He looked behind to the others closing in on them and tried to think of an explanation to where the young Radical had been transported if not to the base. "Ratchet, could he have been transported onto the Nemesis instead?"

"Not likely." The medbot shook his helm. "If Starscream didn't arrive at our base the most likely explanation is a dislocation. He may have been transported to an unintended destination."

Suddenly here was light and Radical realized what must have happened. "A dimensional dislocation… I'm both here and not at the same time. I must have landed in an alternate reality, a shadowzone of sorts." Taking a good look around the colors did seem to be muted quite a bit and although the wind was blowing he couldn't feel it.

"So my son is somewhere out there in a random place on Earth? Hello, sweetspark? Can you hear me?" Doomsday attempted to reach the young mech but only heard static through the comm link. "Nothing… Not good, not good at all. We have to find him before humans do. Or worse."

Optimus shifted his optics to a hole where the previous deceased Decepticon was laid to rest. "Look, Skyquake's tomb is empty." He pointed out to the others.

"How did we miss Skyquake rising and shining?" Bulkhead knew the Decepticon was bigger than him, so a silent retreat was a doubtful option, especially for a Terrorcon.

"It would seem Starscream got what he came for." Ratchet feared the damage it could cause if let loose in a human-inhabited area.

"Another matter for another time, right now our priority is locating Radical. Arcee, bridge us back to base." The Autobot leader vowed he would not rest until they'd found the sparkling.

A groundbridge opened up once more and the team began walking towards it, their optics shifting from one side to the other, if not for the small change the mech they were looking for was still around.

It was then that Radical saw a giant Terrorcon emerge from behind a pile of rocks, scaring him enough to make his spark pulse at top speed. So, that was what an undead Cybertronian looked like… very scary and intimidating. The beast was roaring, akin to a predator, and heading towards the group.

"Watch out!" Radical yelled and stood back, unwilling to take his chances against such a creature. None showed signs of acknowledging the danger looming behind them. "Bulkhead, right behind you!"

The strike went right though the wrecker, rippling like a water droplet.

The small mech let out a sigh of relief. "Thank Solus, he can't touch them. This is definitely some sort of dimensional displacement." It was then that Radical noticed that the hulking figure had lost interest in the untouchable adults and had turned towards him, letting out another roar as he approached.

Oh scrap. Not good. Really, really not good at all.

Radical let out a scream and began running away, not interested on knowing if the undead Skyquake could interact with him due to also having been dimensionally dislocated. He wasn't a ghost but if he didn't escape he'd be soon enough. His smaller legs couldn't carry him as fast as a regular-sized Cybertronian and he knew he couldn't run forever, but he could try to hide until he figured out a way to return to his actual dimension.

* * *

As soon as the team had stepped back into the base Doomsday let out a desperate sob and Solarflare immediately went to comfort her old friend. It took a few minutes but the Forger managed to calm herself down to stop the crying, deciding to be strong and help out in the search for her son. They would bring him back. They had to.

Meanwhile the others had gathered around the main console and debated ways to explain what had happened. Radical couldn't have just disappeared into thin air but no one had ever witnessed two portals interacting with each other and making a bot vanish without a trace. Solarflare and Doomsday finally joined in on the conversation but so far there had been no consensus on what had went down in the desert.

"Ratchet, if Radical was misdirected to an unintended location is there any way to get a fix on his coordinates?" Optimus questioned the medbot.

"If he was lost he would've commed in by now." Doomsday wiped a stray tear from her optic. "If not me, then another of us." She gestured to Mayhem and Silverbot.

"Have you tried calling him?" Solarflare suggested to her friend.

"Yes, no luck there. I heard nothing but static. If he'd been transported to the Nemesis there wouldn't be anything, but static implies he's somewhere else that has a communications scrambler and not an inhibitor like the warship."

"Like an army base?" Silverbot wondered. It would be hard to explain to the government how one of their own had ended up at a human-inhabited base… that was if anyone would even bother to listen to them and not just yell.

"We'd have an Angry Fowler calling us by now if that'd happened." Mayhem shook her helm.

The heavy-duty seeker was trying her best not to appear too guilty-looking. Her Carrier and brother could sniff her out in an instant and Doomsday, in her current state, would be angry enough to leave a few dents. After that she even doubted anyone besides Optimus would help her getting the pieces back together. It was best to wait until everything was solved and they had Radical back with them when she finally admitted to what she'd done.

"That may be true but we can't even be sure he's even in the United States." Ratchet gestured to the global positioning map showing on the main screen.

"My poor sweetspark is out there all alone and I can't do anything about it…" The Forger let her helm rest on Solarflare's shoulder. She wouldn't start crying again… She couldn't start crying again…

"We'll find him." With a comforting gesture the white and green seeker attempted to soothe her friend. Solos knew she'd be in that exact state if it had happened to one of her own.

"Find who?" Airachnid questioned aloud. Everyone stared at newly-arrived femme and she looked around the room to try and get a red of what was happening. "What? Did I miss something?"

* * *

 **AN: What do you all think so far? Good? Terrible? Suggestions and comments are always welcome :)**


	27. Don t (ever) look back

**AN: Nothing new to note here except for one thing. I have decided on one of the final pairings for this fic and I was wondering if anyone could guess it correctly. Here** ´ **s a hint: It´s not that obvious except if one would look into an obscure line somewhere in this entire fic so far. So, any guesses? Oh, and BTW, any suggestions for future pairings? I´m happy to get any sorts of suggestions sent my way :)**

* * *

Radical leaned back against the rocky wall and let himself slide down until he was sitting on the equally uncomfortable ground. Lucky him there was actually some truth to the human movies Mayhem seemed to enjoy and incessantly nagged him to watch. Zombies were indeed slow-moving, giving him enough time outrun his pursuer… for the meantime. Didn´t humans have a saying about running and hiding? Well, in any case, he couldn´t well do those two while trapped in that dimension.

"Hello? Can anyone hear me?" He attempted to establish a comm link with his Carrier, but to no avail. She couldn´t contact him and, apparently, neither could he contact her or anyone else. None of the channels worked, leaving him with nothing but static noise that scratched at his processor in a most uncomfortable way. "I have to figure out a way to contact the others. Scrap, I'm trapped with a zombie and this dimension has lousy reception to boot, my luck couldn´t be worse."

With no other obvious choice, Radical began thinking. Static meant communication wasn't impossible, but it could take him forever to find the right frequency and he didn´t have much time left. Maybe the others hadn't been able to see or hear him because he was moving at hyper-speed. His molecules vibrating so fast it was impossible for his interaction with moving objects, explaining why he could walk on the ground or lean against the rocky wall.

Suddenly there was light. "Maybe… Yes, that could work!"

If he couldn´t speak to the others he needed to find another way to communicate and the best alternative could be writing. Reading didn't require the audio receptors, only the optics, so all he had to do was send a text, but to whom? They weren't humans so cellphones were not needed… Mayhem! She'd been playing a PVP game with a messaging system for both online and offline players. All he had to do was log onto his own account and send a message.

Opening up his wrist keypad, Radical began preparing to send his message when he noticed the sound of footsteps approaching.

Turning back the sparkling saw the hulking giant and finally caught up with him. The Terrorcon let out a menacing roar, his intentions very clear, and continued advancing towards his prey.

Radical let out a yelp of fear and quickly got back to his pedes, running away at top speed, and only then did he finally take notice of an object that rattled in his subspace with every stride. He´d completely forgotten about the grenade his Carrier had given him to use on the humans! Taking it into his servo he caught the pin in his dentas and spat it out (of course she had to take inspiration in the human version) and turned to the Terrorcon for a brief moment, reaching back with his arm and throwing the explosive at the pedes of his pursuer, fully intending to incapacitate him.

Running away once again at top speed, the sparkling braced himself for the loud sound that was sure to follow and the force of the blast that was sure to knock him away.

An explosion disrupted the air… FRAG IT ALL TO CYBERTRON AND BACK, WHY HAD MOM ACTUALLY BEEN RESPONSIBLE AND GIVEN HIM A SHORT RANGE GRENADE?!

* * *

When Starscream had jumped through the groundbridge he'd had quite the undignified landing. Arriving and faceplanting into the ground in front of the Vehicon bridge operator was already bad enough and, for good measure, he'd even threatened the drone in case they decided to tell anyone else of his little escapade.

His arm was still missing upon his return and that would have to be taken care of, hence why he was once again in the medbay of the Nemesis thinking up an excuse to give Knock Out. He'd already removed the dark energon shard from his sparkchamber, not wanting to be found out on dabbling in reanimation, but he still couldn't figure out why his plan hadn't worked. Megatron had managed to rise an entire army with one shard alone, so why hadn't Skyquake been resurrected with half of a shard?

"Erm, Starscream, I don´t quite understand how this could have happened." The medbot brought the SIC back from his musings.

"And yet, it did!" Outrage seemed to be easily conjured up to rebuttal the comment made by the red Aston Martin. "Can you imagine my horror? There I am, minding my own business, when my arm just falls off! Clearly Megatron inflicted more damage upon me than you realized, doctor…"

Knock Out seriously doubted that was the whole, or even true story, but he wasn´t in the mood to be involved in another one of Starscream´s half-thought-out plans. With the big M back in business he would have to watch his step, least his finish suffer the consequences he had before him. The seeker was still scratched and dented all over, not to mention his now temporary inability to take flight, and it was not a look the vain medic would ever go for.

"Well, on the bright side, this provides an opportunity for an upgrade." Going back to his job, Knock Out pulled up a couple images on the screen next to him. "Let´s see, we could go with the sonic canon, it´s reliable, low-maintenance, although it lacks a certain flair. Personally, I´d prefer the null-ray, it has just the right mixture of flash and firepower-"

"I don´t want a new model! I want the same arm I had before!"

Oh joy, his patient had went from outrage to full-blown anger. Why couldn't he ever had one day that Starscream was on his lab and not doing what his designation implied? Oh, how his audio receptor scratched at the screaming and moaning about discomfort this and impatience that.

"Starscream, your equipment is a bit, erm… obsolete." More like ancient to the time of Predacons. Seriously, the seeker´s whole arsenal should be is display at a museum! "I´m not sure I have another one lying around. Of course, we could try to salvage yours. You kept it, didn't you?"

Thinking back to the fight where his arm had gotten blown off, the seeker held back from spouting insults at that miserable Prime. "It was… beyond recovery…"

"Well, in that case, rest here and I´ll be right back with a replacement." Knock Out reached from the life support tubes and hooked them onto Starscream, hoping that time his patient would actually listen to his orders as the official medic aboard the Nemesis. "And this time try to remain still, least your other arm suffers the same fate."

Walking out of the medbay, Knock Out almost prayed the seeker would be gone when he arrived, but that would make his trip pointless. His time could be better used with a buffer and carnauba wax but he still had his job to perform before going back to making himself perfect-looking. Oh, the incessant suffering he had to endure.

Starscream watched the medbot leave and could not do much other than remain still and contemplate his own life. The countless things he´d done and put up with to get this far and yet his dreamed position was held out of his reach once more. He barely had time to enjoy the full potential of his powers as the Decepticon leader before his dreams were cut short. Even incapacitated Megatron had managed to throw a wrench in his plans and come back angrier than ever.

Before the war had started he dreamed of receiving the Matrix of Leadership and become the Prime that would restore Cybertron to its Golden Age, revered and worshiped by all under his command. It had been why he´d joined Megatron to begin with, merely a stepping stone in his grand scheme for power. Back then he couldn´t have cared less for the caste system or the oppression countless faced under the Council´s rule, he´d been most comfortable as the Air Commander of the Energon Seekers, but lust for power had always plagued him.

Don´t humans say the higher they go the harder they fall? Oh, how truthful it was for him. Blinded in his quest for dominance he´d barely noticed when Megatron had dropped the charade for abolishing the caste system and making the Decepticon´s primary quest as one for power, leaving him forever trapped as number two, something he loathed to this day. Working under that mad mech was almost enough to drive one to madness, with the constant threat of punishment at the slightest failure.

Sometimes, in his darkest moods, he wondered if his sister´s words before she left in their youth rang true. That he would not amount to much if he pursued the path to power with disregard to everything else…

No! He could not give reason to that traitorous glitch! He was the true master of the universe, the one to whom everyone would bow to when he finally achieved his quest for power. Nothing would ever stand in his way, not words, not action and certainly not that oversized rusted bucket of anger that kept coming back to torment him.

Resigning himself to resting while waiting for his new arm, Starscream took out the piece of Unicron´s blood he´d acquired during his first attempt on Megatron´s life, only to notice it had started glowing.

"My dark energon shard… pulsing?" That was new. The only reason it could be reaction in such a way would be- "My warrior lives."

His opportunity had not been lost yet! All he had to do was bridge to the site of Skyquake´s tomb and retrieve his resurrected warrior.

Ripping out the life support equipment once more, the seeker jumped out of the medical berth and headed out. Time was of the essence before he lost track of the brute that rejected him in life.

"Ah, look what I found in storage." Knock Out barely had time to enter his lab before his patient almost ran past him. Seriously, again?! "What are you doing?!"

"You were right, Knock Out, I´m much too attached to my original appendage. I will retrieve it." Starscream hurriedly said before heading back to wherever he was going in such a rush.

The medical bot was then left holding onto the, much better, replacement arm. Resigning himself to his never-ending torment at the servos of the mech, he headed back in and set the appendage down in favor of a buffer. He would never understand the mood swings of the SIC even if he tried for a thousand eons. And he didn´t feel like trying either, not when his armor needed polish.

* * *

"Why are you blaming me?!"

"If you'd been here Radical wouldn't have been able to get past us!"

"How?! You're his Carrier, you should've noticed he'd followed you lot."

No one had expected the fight that had blown up the moment Airachnid appeared.

In a few short seconds Doomsday had went from distraught to fully enraged, focusing all her pent-up emotions on tearing down her friend. She missed Radical and was worried about him. Unsure on what to do about his sudden disappearance she felt so powerless about her situation, a big one-eighty from her usual stance, proud and unshakable from her foundation based on her pride as a Forger. It wasn´t fair, why did her sweetspark have to suffer because of someone else´s mistake?!

"You're never here for anything, always either holed up on a dark corner of the base or literally underground! If you'd been here I might've been able to stay behind with him!" She shouted, tears welling up in her optics.

Airachnid wasn´t having none of Doomsday´s attempt to shifting the blame on her. She wasn´t responsible for a never-aging sparkling, her supposed friend was! "Please, that processor of yours can't focus on anything that isn't new and exciting. Remember back on Cybertron, he was always going one way or the other while you looked away and pretended he was still young!"

That had not sit well with the Forger. SHE ALWAYS DID HER BEST FOR HER SWEETSPARK! "Are you saying I'm irresponsible?!"

"I'm stating you are uncorrectably irresponsible!"

"Oh, and you aren't? Just because _he_ left you now you can't even stay under the same roof as everyone else! Solus be damned, for someone who back in the day proudly declared to have gotten over it at every chance she got it sure doesn't look like it!"

It was at that moment time seemingly froze for all Makers. Out of all the low blows to take a shot at...

Airachnid´s past was a sensitive topic, with the spider-femme avoiding talking about most of it at every try to unearth it. Bringing it up was very painful, especially since she hadn´t been sparked in the district, originating from the ´normal´ society of Cybertronians that populated the rest of their planet. Her accident had left her scarred, both physically and mentally, and with trust problems with almost everyone that wasn´t either Solarflare or Doomsday, the ones that took her in and vouched for her integration within Maker society.

The Forger had quickly brought up a servo to cover her mouth but the damage was done. Eons of friendship damaged with a single moment where she´d exposed Airachnid´s biggest wound. Even she couldn´t forgive herself for uttering to damning words but time could not be turned back.

"Watch what your words, Doomsday, or they might be your last." Airachnid had a threatening look about her. Optics narrowed, fangs clearly showing digits curled into claws, ready to attack at any moment. Doomsday had no right to say those things to her, in front of the entire Autobot team, no less.

Uncomfortable with the whole argument, Mayhem had averted her gaze from the scene the two femmes were stirring up, feeling very out of place at the sight of two proclaimed best friends going at each other's neck cables like old enemies. The guilt was eating her from the inside but saying anything now would only turn the hostilities onto her. Her optics eventually landed on her game, forgotten when Radical was declared missing, but the screen showed a message alert pop-up. One with a familiar nickname attached to it.

"Rad sent me a message!" The heavy duty seeker shoved her brother aside and ran up to the controller. Opening the inbox to check on her friend's long-awaited words she was briefly confused. "In alternate dimension with zombie. Help."

Everyone else had focused on the hyped femme, including the squabbling Makers, but none could believe the words they´d just heard. Radical, their Radical, was in a parallel plane of existence being chased down by a reanimated corpse.

"My sweetspark is where with a what?!" Doomsday was the first one to react to the news, although in a rather explosive way.

"Alternate dimension with a zombie." Mayhem quoted the text once more. "Weird, I always thought I'd be the one doing that."

"If you were smaller, yes." Silverbot slowly nodded. His sister and zombies would make a rather unstable mix.

"That… doesn't sound possible." Arcee was even unsure that she'd just heard the correct words, because if so now she´d seen almost everything.

"Never mind that, we have to find a way to get him back." Solarflare put her servo on the Forger´s shoulder, attempting to steady her friend. Leave it to Doomsday to raise someone who would one day land on another dimension.

"Ratchet, can we triangulate the geographical position of the sent message?" Optimus didn´t want to waste any time in bringing back the small mech. Tensions were running high and he had the responsibility to maintain a balanced team, even if they didn´t belong to the same faction.

"In a parallel dimensional plane?!...Let's find out." Ratchet went straight to work at the main console, doing his best to speed up the process, and ended up with a very familiar set of coordinates. "Calculating for relative time delays and ionospheric distortions the signal emanated from the exact location as the original groundbridge coordinates."

"But he wasn´t there when we looked." Doomsday approached the medbot to look at the location being displayed. "How could he still be there?"

"He was not in the correct dimensional phase, as the message stated. If I can recreate the feedback loop which triggered the event I might be able to generate a rescue portal, allowing passage from that dimension-"

"Back to base?" Bulkhead finished the phrase.

"No!" Ratchet shouted. "We're talking about interdimensional travel here, Bulkhead. Attempting to redirect the vortex´s trajectory would be far too risky."

"Everyone knows that." Arcee interjected sarcastically.

"If the coordinates aren´t precisely the same who knows where Radical could wind up?!"

"Bisected in half?" Mayhem threw the question out in the open

Everyone looked at her with expressions clearly indicating they were not amused by her theory.

"Not helping." Silverbot whispered.

"What? I saw it in a human movie once."

* * *

Radical had been running for a while now. Was it him or the Terrorcon was actually somehow getting faster? The grenade he´d thrown looked like it added a slight limp to his pursuer be he couldn´t be too sure.

With a sense of déjà vu the sparkling ran past a familiar pile of rocks. He´d either just ran in a circle or the dimensional plane he was in only encompassed a certain area and it kept sending him back to the ´starting point´. Whatever the case may be, he didn´t know for how much longer he could keep up that pace.

While attempting to look back, Radical immediately tripped over something that sent him to greet the ground faceplate first. Getting up he looked at the place where he´d tripped to find Starscream´s missing arm lying on the ground, likely having been caught in the explosion if to him it was solid. Looking at the appendage, and noticing the missile was still locked in place, he got an idea. The grenade had only sufficed to give a sort of limp to the zombie-Con and make him angrier, but what about a missile with a bigger fire-power capacity?

"Starscream did something his digits…" Picking up examined the severed limb, Radical began trying to understand how it worked. It seemed to be a simple mechanism activated by a certain movement in the digits, very easy to work with.

Hearing a roar from behind the rocky wall, it was evident the Terrorcon was getting closer by the second. There was only one shot and he had to make it count. Holding the appendage like a gun, he waited for the right moment. Aim at the spark, that was what his Carrier had always told him.

When the Terrorcon came into view Radical braced himself, took aim and pressed back the index digit. A distinct ´click´ sound was heard and suddenly the missile wasn´t in his servos anymore and was flying straight at Skyquake. Straight at his spark. The reanimated monstrosity lifted up an arm to protect itself but he caught the blast straight on.

An explosion sound rang though the air, accompanied by a large wall of smoke…But then a set of dangerously sharp claws cut through it and the beast once more roared in anger. Its other arm cut at the elbow and fell down with a shower of sparks, evidencing why it was so angry.

"Well, better than nothing…" Radical trailed off.

It was at that moment the universe seemed to give an advantage to the already overpowered side of that chase. The fallen arm began twitching and came to life, running at the frightened Maker like a twisted version of a spider.

"Wrong!" The sparkling chucked the seeker´s useless appendage to the side and turned back to start running like a mad mech once more. How did a zombie arm move faster than the actual zombie?!

It took his everything not to look behind and try to see where his now two chasers were but, putting all his effort in the escape, Radical managed to outpace the severed limb…only to end up back at the site where he´d dropped Starscream´s arm.

"You have got to be kidding me!" He yelled out into the air.

Why, just why, the one time he tried to pull a Mayhem he´d ended up trapped in another dimension with a resurrected Decepticon infected with dark energon?! Couldn´t he have ended up at the bottom of a random ocean?! It would have been far more pleasant and easier than to run a marathon attempting to avoid a pursuer than turned into two!

"Skyquake? Your master summons you." The voice of Starscream echoed throughout and his frame was soon spotted up ahead.

Radical let out a scream and took a step back before realizing the Decepticon couldn´t see him. An undead Con was already bad enough, add a still functioning one to the mix and it would be game over for him.

Speaking of the devil the sounds of the approaching arm began intensifying and, looking back on his track, Radical saw the dismembered spidery arm had caught up to him. Guess he had no choice but to keep running.

"Never thought I´d run towards a Decepticon." He mused aloud while picking up speed to make another lap in the demented merry-go-round he´d landed in.

Just as the sparkling was about to pass the taller seeker a groundbridge opened up in front of him, making him stop dead in his tracks. They´d received his message! And sent help too!

Starscream, on the other hand, wasn´t as joyful to see the green vortex open up in front of him. "What?" He snarled and examined his predicament closely, wondering about the origins of that particular groundbridge. "Mine or theirs?"

On the other dimension, Radical´s processor ran a million miles per millisecond. If he went ahead he´d surely get caught by Starscream, and he didn´t fancy meeting Megatron once more in person, but if he didn´t take this opportunity… Looking back for what seemed like the millionth time he gazed at pursing animated limb gaining terrain on him. Thinking up a quick solution on what to do he decided to go through, but it had to be timed just right.

He waited.

The zombie arm was coming closer at top speed.

Just a little more.

It was almost upon him.

That´s it, a bit closer and-

"Solus save me!" Radical jumped into the portal and immediately came out the other side in his dimension, crouching to slide right though the Decepticon´s legs with only two words. "S´cuse me!"

"The sparkling!" Starscream was caught by surprise but his intent to pursue the small mech didn´t last for long when a dismembered Terrorcon arm jumped at him just as the green vortex closed and shoved him ungracefully into the ground "Gah! This isn´t mine! Unhand me!" He struggled one-armed against the limb that he deducted to belong to Skyquake, barely able to hold in his screams. Why didn´t his plans ever worked?!

The seekerlet was glad his plan had worked but kept running none the less, when another groundbridge opened up again in front of him, but this time his Carrier came running through and scooped him up in her arms.

"My sweetspark, my ray of sunshine! You´re alright! I was so worried!" Doomsday kissed every available surface on her son´s faceplate as she squeezed him against her, unwilling to let him go until they were safe back at the base. "You´re here, you´re here, I´m so glad you came back to me!"

The Forger had never felt so relieved in her lifecycle. Her sweet little sweetspark, her ray of sunshine, was back! She felt the unshed tears throughout her spark and felt liking it was singing in relief at having her precious little mech back safe and sound.

Optimus, Arcee and Bulkhead came through the vortex as well and, although glad to have Radical back, still saw the threat in Starscream, even if he seemed otherwise preoccupied with what seemed an animated arm. That day kept getting weirder by the minute.

"Autobots again?!" Starscream had finally managed to throw the offending appendage away from him to be able to see properly. So that was the seekerlet´s Carrier… Unfortunately it would have to way. "Requesting emergency groundbridge now!" He had no idea what to tell Knock Out that time to get the vain doctor to believe his lies.

WHY DIDN´T HIS PLANS EVER WORKED?!

* * *

"Look, if you´re gonna blame anybody, blame me." Mayhem looked at the group of bots in front of her. Autobots and Makers, fighting together and also sticking together… against her. "I was the one who convinced him to do it."

The heavy-duty seeker felt terrible at the thought of having put her friend through such a dangerous situation, even if unintentionally. A part of her always seemed to scream for adventure and bending the rules to fit her way and that part was also responsible for both her best and worst decisions in her lifecycle. Her little plans never seemed to harm anyone else other than her but to think Radical could have ended up… She didn´t even want to think about it.

Upon seeing Mayhem so downcast, the guilt clearly written in her faceplate, Radical decided it was time to step in. Makers always stuck together, even if one of them made a terrible, stupid, idiotic dare… and when another was stupid and idiotic enough to take on said dare. Taking a place at the side of his friend he put a comforting servo on her leg to draw her attention.

"Don´t put the blame all on her. I could have said no but I didn´t. Besides, I´m old enough to take the fall for my mistakes." The small mech gazed up at his Carrier, her optics so unsure on what to think. "I´m sorry for what I did and I promise to never do it again."

"Do you really promise?" Doomsday asked her son. She was lost on what to do in that situation, never having grounded him for any misdeed. In her mind she knew all she had to do was hear those words to immediately forgive him.

"I promise and I´m sorry." Radical gave a comforting smile to his Carrier before gazing back up at Mayhem. "I also didn´t manage to get any zombie shots. Sorry."

"Aww, really?" The femme pouted in disappointment but was quick to receive a smack upside the helm, curtesy of her own brother. "Ouch, what was that for?"

"You´re incorrigible." He said. But also getting on the right track, he mused to himself.

"I forgive you." Doomsday crossed her arms and smiled. Now everything could go back to normal.

Solarflare didn´t want to believe it but at the same time was already expecting it. How could that Forger be so irresponsible even now?! "Just like that?! He should be grounded for what he did!"

"Well, he promised not to do it again and I believe him. Besides, running from a Terrorcon in an alternate dimension is punishment enough in my book."

"Again, how did you ever manage to raise him all in one piece is a mystery."

"So… what happened exactly while you were on the other side?" Mayhem picked up Radical and set him on her shoulders and began walking away to the crates in front of the gaming console. "You´ve got to tell us everything. I need to know if human movies really tell the truth"

The others began walking alongside the heavy-duty seeker, also curious to hear a tale involving interdimensional travel and a zombie (and zombie arm!) until only Optimus, Ratchet, Solarflare and Doomsday remained behind. The group of the older bots watched as the younger generations were wrapped in attention in the tale told by the youngest of all, their optics mirroring curiosity and wonder at the words being spoken by the seekerlet.

"Are you sure she isn't yours?" Solarflare nudged Doomsday, commenting on her daughter´s seeming lack of focus on the danger that had just passed.

"Pretty sure." The Forger chuckled before putting on a more serious composure, her small smile falling to be replaced by worry. "By the way, where´s Airachnid? I have one or two apologies in order to give her."

"No idea. She may even not show up for a few days after what you said." She knew the situation they had at hand and, given the spider-femme´s temper, her words would likely ring true.

"You previously mentioned her getting over something?" Optimus addressed Doomsday in a knowing tone. Everyone had their past, including himself. "Some past experiences could be traumatic enough for someone to never forget them."

"You two always get along so well, was it so bad that she will not forgive you?" Ratchet asked, more than curious to know about the past of the femme that incessantly pestered him with innuendo. Perhaps she was more than she appeared after all.

"Yeah… A long time ago she, erm, was abandoned by her intended and it was always a sore topic." Doomsday had no idea why she was divulging that information, if only to make the weight of her actions be truly felt by the Autobots. "She won't forget this. Not now or ever."

What had been done was one of the most hurting thing of all. Used the past to try and win a present fight. Not even she could forgive herself for doing something that cruel.

* * *

 **AN: Nothing here, onward to the next episode ;)**


	28. Rivalries

**AN: A new chapter so soon? Why yes :p Anyway,still accepting suggestions for pairings and if anyone want an OC to have a cameo appearance I may have a few spots open in future chapters. As usual, hit me up with a review or PM to tell me what your thoughts are bout the story so far.**

* * *

Bulkhead was not the brightest bot around but he could tell you a few things. First, any Deception sighting was bad news. Second, if that Con turned out to be Breakdown it was even worse news. Third, always have backup at hand in case something goes wrong.

Why hadn't he listened to his own advice?

Engaging the enemy solo had seemed like a good idea, he had previous experience dealing with that bucket of bolts and knew his repertoire of moves. Everything he'd done then he'd done many times before every time their paths happened to cross, only difference being a certain someone he'd grown attached to… and Breakdown knew it.

" _Where's your pet? How about when I finish with you I pay her a visit?" Breakdown had a malicious grin on his faceplate when talking about Mayhem._

The wrecker knew the heavy-duty seeker could more than take care of herself, and even had her brother to back her up, but hearing those words just made him see red. He'd gotten angry, careless, and threw his punches with less precision. That had gotten him a hammer straight to the chestplates that knocked the wind right out of him, making his processor spin with confusion.

He remembered Breakdown standing over him, that wrenched hammer ready to smash into his processor, and then... nothing. Bulkhead had blacked out before his opponent could inflict the final blow and never expected to wake up after that but when he did and there was no Breakdown to speak of anywhere near him, that almost scared him more than his unending demise.

An uncertain amount of time had passed before Bulkhead came to with Mayhem yelling in his comm about where he was and his early promise to go on patrol together. Quickly standing up he found himself all alone in the deserted city, no Cons around to speak of, especially not the one he'd been fighting, only a persisting processor ache and the knowledge something was definitely wrong.

"Hold still."

"I am." Bulkhead fidgeted once more.

"You are not." Solarflare warned as she maneuvered the welder over the wrecker's wounds. "Seriously, one would think you'd never been on the mend in your life."

Upon requesting a groundbridge back to base the wrecker had been immediately greeted with medical care by both Ratchet and Solarflare. They had him sit down on a crate large enough to support his size and gotten right to work on patching up any bumps and bruises presented by the large mech. The medical attention was accompanied, as usual, by complaints about the shape he'd allowed to get himself in without asking for backup and the threat of more injuries if he didn't hold still.

"Yikes, Bulk, what happened to you?" Mayhem came up from behind and put her servos on Bulkhead's shoulders, looking down on with a reassuring smile. "Looks like you fought with a giant blender. And the blender won."

"Engaging the enemy on your own was foolish, Bulkhead." Optimus chastised his team member.

"Oh…" The purple and white femme understood what must have happened and slowly backed up. At least there wasn't any traces of her on that train wreck. Considering her track record it wouldn't have been a plus on her books.

"Breakdown jumped me. I knew I could take him- Ouch! Ratchet!" Bulkhead turned to the medbot with a frown. Hadn't he already suffered enough?

"Solarflare did tell you to hold still." Ratchet had a deadpan look on his faceplate and went back to patching up his teammate.

"Aww, you got in a fight? I really wanted to watch you beat the scrap out of Breakdown." Mayhem pouted but quickly regained her cheerful mood. Stepping around her Carrier, she knelt down to face the wrecker with a grin. "On the plus side, the other side came out looking worse, right?"

"Yeah… about that…" He really wasn't sure what to tell the others, not when his mind was a blank on the actual events.

"You didn't torch him?"

"Not exactly. I figured you all did. When I came to, Breakdown was just… gone. I remember hearing a copter, maybe it was Agent Fowler."

"Not me." Speak of the devil and he shall appear. Although in their case the human wasn't so much of a devil as he was there for support. "But I have an idea who. Show me where this Con-napping occurred."

Leaving Solarflare to finish up on the wrecker's patch job, Ratchet went up to the main console and pulled up the groundbridge coordinates they'd used to rescue Bulkhead. It was a few ways stray from the green mech had originally landed while tracking an energon trail but he'd gone silent after a while, prompting the others to wonder what he'd been doing. When they were reunited at last they figured out why, he'd been fighting and refused to call for backup, hence his sorry state.

"This is where we picked up Bulkhead." Ratchet pointed to a mass of land on the far east of Russia.

"Kamchatka Peninsula in Eastern Russia, most of it was abandoned twenty years ago when its volcano first erupted." The human man nodded at the map. He'd already feared that would have been the figurative scene of the crime but now he was sure of what likely had occurred. "My intel reported M.E.C.H. activity in the earlier today."

"M.E.C.H.? You mean those techie humans?" Mayhem approached their liaison and stared alongside him at the map displayed on the main screen.

"The very ones who know of our existence on this planet." The medbot soon began to realize the seriousness of the situation.

Since their last encounter the interference by the human organization had been a dreaded occurrence. The Cybertronians knew the knowledge of their existence was now possessed by a dangerous gathering of people that had likely shifted their attentions onto alien technology or, more precisely, living alien technology.

"They must have tracked one of us there." Bulkhead voiced the concerns present on everyone's mind.

"But what would they want with Breakdown?" Asked the purple and white seeker. If they'd taken him why not also Bulkhead?

"What's it matter? They can have him." Arcee shrugged off the issue. They ran into Cons so often it would be good for their enemies to take a loss in their ranks.

"You won't hear me complaining from me about it either." Surprisingly, Solarflare had to agree with the two-wheeler. "If M.E.C.H. hadn't taken him Bulkhead wouldn't even be here." She'd patched him up and knew he was one well-placed hit away from becoming scrap metal. To her, Decepticons were the enemy and that meant prioritizing their own team over the opposing one.

Bumblebee agreed with the femmes. Who could have guessed one of the big bad Cons would be taken down by humans and if it gave them an advantage over the Decepticons it was only a plus on his books.

"Yeah, dragged off by humans. Guess I softened him of for them." Bulkhead palmed his fist and looked at Mayhem who, surprisingly, averted her gaze.

Now, that was odd. The femme loved a good fight and there was no love lost between her and Breakdown, especially since their first meeting, so why was she reacting the way she did?

"Ratchet, reactivate the previous groundbridge coordinates. We will rescue Breakdown." Optimus nodded to the medbot.

"What?!" Both Ratchet and Solarflare exclaimed. The Prime really want to attempt a rescue mission for an enemy, could he?

Arcee resisted the urge to scoff at her leader. "Optimus, you can't be serious." It sounded like a really bad idea that could blow up on their faceplates and likely would. They'd faced Decepticons for so long it was obvious none were really deserving of a rescue party, least of all Breakdown.

Bumblebee couldn't help it and expressed his feelings of unease at the thought of risking their tailpipes to rescue an enemy. Breakdown would more than likely turn on them the moment they saved him from the clutches of the humans, not to mention his well-known wild temperament wasn't going to allow for easy cooperation.

"M.E.C.H. can melt him down for all I care, let the Cons rescue their own." Bulkhead attempted to get the Autobot leader to reconsider the idea of rescuing the Decepticon by leaving his rescue to his own side.

"It's hard to do his, but I agree with the others." Solarflare gestured to the Autobots that were against the Prime's plan. While she agreed on the intrinsic values of life she also believed on careful consideration one life versus several. Especially if said life belonged to an active war criminal. "We'll be putting ourselves on the line to rescue an enemy that can and very likely will turn on us as soon as we're done. Not to mention we also face the threat of charging right into a trap, and then who will rescue us?"

"It is unlikely Megatron would bother with an errand of mercy." Optimus explained his reasoning. The war had already take its toll on both sides, there was no need for any more unnecessary shedding of energon.

Arcee still wasn't convinced. "Okay… but this is Breakdown we're talking about."

"Sometimes we must rise above ourselves for the greater good."

"Aww, what's that supposed to mean?" Bulkhead didn't know how much more he could take. The leader he looked up to for so long wanted to rescue one of the worst Decepticons there ever existed and the whole team was just supposed to take it? "Breakdown's gonna be grateful, go all soft and join the cause?!"

"While it is unlikely any Decepticon would choose the path of good, even they possess the potential to change."

"I knew where this was headed!"

"By greater good, I meant human-kind. M.E.C.H. presents a clear and present danger."

"Prime's right, two-ton." Fowler approached the edge of the platform he was standing in to be face-to-face with Bulkhead. "We know M.E.C.H. is obsessed with obtaining ground-breaking technology."

"Which means we cannot allow Cybertronian technology into their servos."

Ratchet took his cue and entered the coordinates into the console, opening up a groundbridge to the site where they'd picked up Bulkhead. It was true, Breakdown was one of their worst enemies but having Cybertronian technology fall into the hands of a dangerous human militia would mean another side to keep their optics on.

"Solarflare…"

"Sorry, but you can count me out. While I agree with you I have a moral dilemma about helping bots who tried to offline members of our team. I can man the groundbridge but don't expect me to patch up any Decepticons." Solarflare raised her servos in a surrendering motion and lightly shook her helm in refusal. "At least with their pain receptors off." She whispered to herself as she walked away to the main console.

"I'll go with." Mayhem approached the rescue party.

"Mayhem!"

"Don't Mayhem me!" The heavy-duty seeker talked back to her Carrier, her expression steeled into one of resolve. "You heard Optimus, the big bad Con himself won't even bother, so you can't stop me from going. Silver's taking Rad out on patrol, who knows where Airachnid and Doomsday are off arguing to, and you won't help. I wanna pull my weight around here, you can't keep me cooped up in her much longer!"

The femme carefully considered her daughter's words before letting out a resigned sigh. It was one of those things she really had no control over. What would she rather have, her daughter going out with a team on a sanctioned mission or off to who knows where gallivanting on her own? "Fine. But at the first sight of Megatron you're out of there."

"Sweet! C'mon, Bulk, it's jailbreak time!"

"No way! Don't wanna." The wrecker crossed his arms and huffed. Why couldn't they all see their rescue would be for nothing?! In the end there would be just another Con to fight against.

"Bulkhead-" The Prime attempted but was interrupted by the green mech.

"Optimus, I'm sorry, I just can't do it!"

"I support your choice."

"What?!" Both bulkhead and Mayhem exclaimed. That was one they hadn't seen coming.

"Given your history with Breakdown, your judgement may be clouded, and thus jeopardize the mission. Besides, the Decepticon may need a medic than another warrior."

"Locked and loaded, Optimus." Ratchet approached the team, ready with a tracker to help locate where Breakdown could have been taken to by M.E.C.H. and hopeful his expertise wouldn't be in high demand. Just like Solarflare, the idea of patching up a Decepticon wasn't very appealing.

"Autobots, roll out!" Optimus gestured to the groundbridge before transforming, entering the green vortex with his team right behind.

"Hello, Maker here!" Mayhem shouted with a little indignation as she chased the others though the groundbridge.

Left alone with Solarflare and Agent Fowler, Bulkhead could only watch as the portal disappeared into the usual greying metal parts. Was it that hard to understand that Decepticon scum was not worth even as much as the smallest dust grain in the whole planet Earth? What would they get from a rescue, his eternal love and gratitude? Please, that Slag heap wouldn't know gratitude if it hit him over the helm and left a mark.

"…Fine, happy hunting." The wrecker pouted (although he'd vehemently deny it.).

"Hey." Solarflare, seeing the state Bulkhead was in, had an idea to try and take his mind off the mission he refused to partake in. "I know how you feel. There's nothing wrong with not wanting to take part on the rescue of someone you hate for a number of good reasons."

"Thanks, I guess."

"As longs as you're here, could you try to find Airachnid and Doomsday? None of them are answering their comms and I can't be too sure they aren't at each other's neck cables." That was if energon hadn't already been spilled.

Had the Makers been granted the mercy of continuing the production of high-grade it would have been a matter of getting those two intoxicated enough to 'kiss and make up', but dried up as they were tensions could run high. The only thing worse than an angry Maker was an angry and sober one. It was one of the many reasons infighting in the district was kept to a minimum, everyone forgot their troubles and spats by drinking until they were nothing but a dream.

"Sure. Guess I have to do something to pass the time." Bulkhead nodded and headed off to find the two femmes, wondering if he'd be granted the mercy of not getting caught between them.

* * *

Breakdown felt like his processor was floating in some sort of container. When he tried opening his optics all the images seemed blurred and weirdly hard to come into focus. He couldn't remember much after his fight with the wrecker, the last thing on his memory being him about to finish the annoying mech off before feeling a high-voltage current go through his frame and he fell down, his consciousness drifting away.

As the seconds went by the picture of where he was became clearer. All sorts of machinery that seemed to be fit for torture surrounded him and his first thought was that he'd been brought back to the medbay on the Nemesis, Knock Out having quite an impressive collection of those instruments. Then he tried to step off the supposed medical berth he was supposed to be lying on but found himself unable to move. That definitely woke him up.

"Wha-what!" He groaned.

Breakdown struggled against his restraints, but found them to be quite resistant to his attempt at escape, and finally realized he wasn't where he thought he was in the first place. The color scheme was all wrong and he felt some sort of raised objects poking at his back, so he definitely wasn't in friendly hands. And those torture instruments would likely be used on him.

Spotting a platform up above he was able to recognize heavily armed masked humans, with three of them gazing at a display of his interior workings. It was obvious he'd been kidnapped by some sort of military group but for what he had no idea, although he couldn't care less, because his main objective was to get free and squish each and every one of them like the vermin they were.

"Filthy fleshlings, who do think you are?!"

One of the humans, apparently their leader, turned around, hands on his hips as to display his superiority over the captured Cybertronian.

"We are M.E.C.H. and I am Silas." Spoke the human male with little to no emotion on his voice.

"Release me now and I will let you live!"

"I'm afraid you are too valuable to us."

Breakdown laughed at the thought of being held captive by inferior beings, they had no idea of who they were dealing with. "Megatron will never pay a ransom."

"Oh, you misunderstand. We don't want a ransom, we want only you. All of you." Silas said with a smug undertone on his voice, making the captured giant struggle once more against his restraints, having realized his fate. "Full disclosure, we intend to pull you apart, break you down if you will, and we will utilize whatever we discover to develop a new generation of weaponry."

Silas snapped his fingers and immediately a differently-clothed masked human climbed up on the chassis of the Cybertronian, the instruments surrounding him coming closer and standing right above his frame.

For the first time in eons, Breakdown felt a type of fear that he'd almost forgotten about. Fear for when his spark was about to be extinguished and he was powerless to stop it. He felt himself freeze up at the thought of being pulled apart, like one of Knock Out's 'experiments', and he knew no subject ever survived vivisection.

M.E.C.H.'s leader came down the stairs, almost strolling as he descended to the level of the prisoner, hands folded behind his back and a smirk on his face. "I'm afraid that you won't survive the process, so thank you in advance for your sacrifice, M.E.C.H. is very much in your debt."

"You are making a very big mistake. When I'm finished with you they'll have to scrape you off the floor." The Decepticon attempted to put on a brave face with his threats, but knew that in his state escape would be near impossible.

"Since you evidently aren't squeamish, I'll allow you to watch. Are his pains receptors disabled?" Silas asked the scientist standing atop of the Cybertronian, and got a nod in response. "Good, then he won't make as much noise. Open him up."

At those words one of the drills descended and the scientist took it onto himself to guide it and make the first incision… right on the Decepticon's optic. The extraction would surely have hurt, had the pain receptors been online, but the worst part of all was the feeling of a foreign object being forced into the mech's helm.

Breakdown's faceplates contorted into one of open fear but he refused to scream, to let them know he was very much fearful for his future. That couldn't be how his spark would fade away, captured and pulled apart by a bunch of lowlife organics… He wouldn't dare to give them the satisfaction.

* * *

Team Prime, plus a Maker, arrived at the site of Bulkhead's rescue just as the sun was setting and darkness began to spread throughout the sky.

As soon as the Autobots stepped onto the abandoned city they drew their weapons and stood on high alert for any sign of enemies, while Mayhem took her sweet time looking around, her hammer still safely put away.

"No signs of life, human or Cybertronian." Optimus took on a calmer stance and put away his weapons.

"Seriously, you guys expected a welcoming committee as soon as we came here? They're all techie and stuff but I doubt they can predict the future." The purple and white seeker calmly spoke as she too in the sight of their deserted surroundings. Some paint here and there could really cheer up the place, it all looked so gloomy…

Bumblebee called the attention of the entire team and pointed at a set of tracks heading off away from the site. They'd likely been left by the machinery used to transport Breakdown's body from there to another location.

"Forget the tracks, Bumblebee, I'm picking up a faint energon signal three kliks north by northwest." Ratchet discarded the scout's idea and pointed in the opposite direction of the tracks.

Optimus knew what that signal meant. "Breakdown."

Arcee did too. "But we shouldn't be getting a reading unless-"

"His energon's been spilled." Ratchet finished the two-wheeler's sentence.

It was a probability their mission could turn out to be a body retrieval rather than a hostage rescue one, but spilled energon could mean just a minor leak… hopefully. Most didn't mind if Breakdown offlined at the hands of the humans but they couldn't allow M.E.C.H. o come in possession of Cybertronian technology or ways to replicate it.

"You guys follow the signal, I'm checking out the tracks." Mayhem pointed with her thumb at the markings left on the dirt. An energon signal was good but it didn't always mean there was a body nearby and Bulkhead had been trailing a reading nearby for the stuff…

"Mayhem…" Optimus trailed off in a warning. He didn't want to discard all possibilities but letting her go out on her own could be a risk.

"I know, I know. Be careful and all that jazz. Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. Besides, I've seen enough human movies to know the tracks are always a good lead."

"Please, be careful. Your Carrier worries deeply for you."

"Yeah…" She trailed off, her mood suddenly having dropped, a thousand yard stare in her optics. "Sometimes I do too."

* * *

Bulkhead had been wandering around the base for a while. He'd forgotten how big it actually was, some hallways seemed to go on forever and before you knew it you were back at the starting position. When team Prime had originally settled in the old missile silo he'd they'd actually gotten lost a few time trying to find their way around the maze-like structure and sometimes to this day they still enjoyed having a good laugh over it.

Letting go of the old memories, the wrecker wondered what had it been that had managed to drive a rift between the two femmes. Airachnid and Doomsday behaved like sisters to a certain point, always laughing and supporting each other no matter what. Even Solarflare sometimes was outnumbered by the two when it came to their more carefree attitudes towards life. The more down-to-earth Maker leader wanted to play it safe while the other two wanted to take risks and enjoy the small things in life.

"I'm sorry I brought up your past to win an argument where I shouldn't even have had a word in." Came Doomsday's voice from one of the storage rooms down the hallway. "You were, are, right. I've been raising a sparkling who's pretty much the same age as Mayhem but the way I act sometimes is a little irresponsible."

"Sometimes?" Airachnid didn't sound convinced by the Forger's apology, her voice carrying a sharp edge of disbelief and hurt.

Bulkhead quietly (or as quietly as he could) approached the closed door and dared to take a peek inside through the edge of the glass part. The room was mostly barren, save for the copious amount of webbing that crisscrossed from one wall to the other and all the way up to the ceiling. If he didn't find the spider-femme a little scare he might've marveled at the beauty of the silken threads.

From the looks of it they were unaware of the third party snooping in on their talk and Bulkhead hoped it would remain like that. He could outwardly admit to fearing Airachnid but Doomsday… He couldn't bring himself to fully trust someone who could be so cheerful most of the time and, at the flip of a switch, scramble her emotions worse than a mangled radio signal.

Inside, Doomsday attempted to take a step forward to meet Airachnid, who had her back turned. The purple femme's back was ramrod straight and arms crossed in a show that indicated she was still very much upset, but from what Bulkhead could see of her optics, they showed a great amount of sadness.

"Most of the times." Doomsday finally caved in and admitted to one of her fatal flaws she never deemed important to address. "I can't help it, I just…I want him to like me as much as I like him. I'm afraid that, one day, he'll actually grow up and just fly away."

"That's really emotional and all but it doesn't forgive those words. You knew I didn't like talking about my past and you had to bright it up in front of everyone!" Airachnid pointed an accusatory digit at the Forger.

Her past was supposed to be just that, past, gone, erased from history like any another unfortunate accident perpetrated by reckless cadets who couldn't keep still. Those memories sometimes came back to haunt her, nothing enough high-grade couldn't solve, but now with her dry spell they didn't leave and insisted on staying, each day creeping a little closer to the front of her processor. Airachnid just wanted everything to go back to the way it was before the war, it wasn't perfect, but she felt like she belonged.

"I know... I will always be sorry for what I did and you don't even have to forgive me. I just… I don't want to lose one of my best friends." The orange femme didn't know what else to say. Asking for forgiveness was easy, anyone could do it, but regret came with a harsher edge that metaphorically cut at the insides of a person.

"Best friends don't do what you did!" With a yell the spider-femme closed up on Doomsday and grabbed her by the shoulders, restraining herself not to sink her digits and draw energon "You knew how much I hate what happened back on Archa Seven! How much I hate them for leaving me behind…" The tears began welling up in her optics and she couldn't stop them from pouring out, her voice weakening to a whisper. "How much I sometimes hate myself for looking like this…"

Doomsday really hadn't prepared for this. She'd expected yelling, acid and webbing to be thrown at her along with some insults for good measure, but the crying part had caught her completely off-guard. Airachnid was renowned for her short temper and resolve, what she wanted she got and no questions were asked, anyone caught in her path simply brushed aside, most of the times without even realizing it.

The Forger was out of her element so she limited herself to acting according to her instincts… by hugging her friend. "You should hate them, for what they did to you, but don't hate yourself. You're beautiful, smart, a really good worker and you care so much for the ones who took you in to the point where you reinvented yourself just to fit in with us." She reassured Airachnid and felt relief when the tears began to dry out. "I could only hope I was ever so selfless as you because, as you know, I drank so much I can't even remember who my Carrier and Sire were. And I kept drinking just because afterwards."

"I hate you so much… You make me want to forgive you, even when you hurt me."

"Don't. Please, forgive me only if you want to, not because of an obligation to do so. I just want to be your friend."

"I don't know if I can do that. Not yet." Airachnid stepped away from Doomsday and lightly shook her helm before using her digits to remove whatever traces of energon her tears had left.

Nodding, the Forger accepted her fate. "It's alright. Take your time and, if even if you don't forgive me, it's alright. The damage is done and the guilt is only mine."

"It will take time, but I think I can."

"Thank you."

The two femmes remained in silence for a few seconds, letting their conversation settle in. Both of them were glad not to have the rift that had opened between them be so wide anymore, but also knew a bridge would have to be built over time. The damage was done and the gap could never be filled, merely crossed with an effort from both sides.

"I… Think you were right too. For, you know, calling me out because I'm barely around most of the time." Airachnid was the first to break the silence, also accepting her shortcomings. Doomsday wasn't the one with unattended over due issues. "I like to put up this front of being the scary lone wolf, but it's not who I am. I just enjoy being alone and, in my mind, pretend I'm still back home with everyone else, drinking and getting anything I want with a wink to the right mech…"

The glamour, the cushy lifestyle supported by the shanix of love-struck mechs, the unending amount of high-grade passed around between friends during conversations or games… Their sparks had never truly left Cybertron, even with a place on planet Earth to call home.

"Not just that. I think… I think I might actually l-"

Bulkhead had stopped listening as quietly backed down the hallway. He had the feeling that what he was witnessing had turned into a very private moment and if those two found him out there would be a steep price to pay.

Silently retreating to the main room to reassure Solarflare that she didn't have to worry about her friends tearing each other's sparks out, a question gnawed at his processor and refused to go away. He knew something about it, he was sure of it, but couldn't quite put a tie or place on it.

Where had he heard the name Archa Seven before?


	29. The (bitter)sweet end

**AN:** **I have to say this was one of the funnest chapters to write up to date. I have to thank Lexsequor for having given me some good ideas to implement on this chapter and thank them once again for the inspiration provided :) Also, announcement here, I'll likely be skipping "Crisscross" because, in all honestly, I don** **'** **t feel like writing another human-based episode. FYI I´m still open to pairing suggestions and OC cameos if you have them!**

* * *

Team Prime kept moving on through the deserted city, weapons drawn and ever alert to any surprise attacks from M.E.C.H. or, even if unlikely, from Decepticons. The team felt as if they were on a mission back on Cybertron, looking and pointing their blasters in every direction, their senses on high alert for anything that moved.

Ratchet was the only one with his weapons sheathed, scanner in one servo and striding confidently ahead, backed up by the three other Autobots, to where the signal was pointing towards. The mech didn't even know what they would find when they arrived on the site, it could range from nothing to a true nightmarish vision.

"This way." The medbot lead the rest of team Prime past a pair of high walls and though where, once upon a time, perhaps a gate had stood.

The building they'd been drawn to was the largest around, probably having served as a teaching place, military office or even the residence of someone important in the past, but, as every other construction in the town, it had long been left behind.

Arcee and Bumblebee had quickly ran up ahead to protect the flanks, kneeling behind another pair of smaller walls, and gestured for Optimus and Ratchet to pass though after them when it was deemed safe. The taller mech walked up ahead of the medbot, clearly taking the stand of the deterrent between him and a surprise enemy attack, caution in his every move and blaster calmly swaying from one direction to the other.

When the whole team had converged around what had once been a fountain they gave way for Ratchet to continue through, unsure of what they were exactly searching for.

"The reading's coming from right… here." The medical expert paused in front of the fountain and looked down, only to find a very familiar piece of a Cybertronian's biology standing on top of it, almost like a trophy on a pedestal. Kneeling down, he studied it carefully before making his assumptions about if it was indeed the real deal. "Breakdown's optic."

The sight was enough to make a shiver go down the spinal strut of every present Cybertronian. To have such a sensitive part of one's self removed was bad enough, for the job to have been performed by humans intended on studying their race was even worse. To think that Bulkhead could have suffered that fate made the event all too hard-hitting for the bots gazing down at such a small, yet valuable, element of their nature.

Ratchet carefully picked up the optic and connected it to the top port on his scanner, letting his equipment try and get any readings that might have been left behind before the organ had been forcibly removed. The others gathered around the kneeling mech and observed his work with intent curiosity.

"What are you doing?" Asked Arcee with a sort of morbid curiosity. She wasn't anywhere near Ratchet's level of medical expertise so her knowledge didn't go far beyond the basics taught at the Academy.

"The optics receptors might have retain the final image's scene." Answered Ratchet while pressing a few buttons.

The image displayed on the scanner changed, showing a human dressed top to bottom in black, mask with orange goggles included, operating horror-movie worthy equipment.

"What do you know, weird science wins again." Said the two-wheeler with some sort of wonder at the abilities of medical technology.

The human displayed in the video feed then began directing a drill into the organ in question before the feed cut to static. Everyone gasped at the nightmarish experience it must have been to endure such a forceful procedure performed on one-self, but the surprise didn't end there. A short second after the static gave place to a real-time video of the extensive procedure Breakdown was enduring and, right front and center, was a man they'd fought before.

"Well, well, Optimus Prime, a pleasure to set eyes on you again." The ageing man greeted the Prime with a sense of smugness about him.

"He's converted the optics into a two-way feed." Whispered Ratchet, amazed at how easily their biotechnology had been manipulated in such a short amount of time.

"And you must be Silas." Responded the Autobot leader with cautiousness. The calmness to the situation by the human man could be compared to that of Megatron during the war's peak of atrocities, he mused to himself.

"In the flesh." He almost gloated at the thought of being recognized by the giant alien robot. "But being that our captive is not one of yours, I have to admit I was expecting Megatron."

"In this circumstance, Autobots and Decepticons share a common foe."

"M.E.C.H. is anything but common. Our guest is yielding quite a bit of information about your biomechanics, as you can see, although Breakdown himself can't see so well anymore."

"We don't fear you." The medbot talked back to Silas. He'd seen too much in his past to be affected by the scenario taking place in the background, no matter how gruesome it was.

"Oh, but you should. In fact, I would strongly urge that you not stand your ground." Silas smiled at the team of Autobots, knowing of his 'special' surprise planted beneath their pedes.

It was only then, in their confusion, that the bots noticed a distinct 'beep' going off every second and looked down. Underneath a grating laid a bomb if with few seconds left to going off. They'd walked right into a trap and ran the risk of being in more pieces the Breakdown himself.

"It's a trap!" Loudly proclaimed the Autobot leader, prompting the others to shrink away from the explosive.

"Would this be a roll-out kind of trap?" Arcee nervously asked, but she already knew the answer.

"Evacuate, now!"

The whole team retreated as fast as possible, turning into their alt-modes to try and evade the explosion that followed. It was like a thousand fireworks going off at the same time, obliterating the entire surroundings with ease, reducing the stone constructions in the vicinity to rubble in a flash. They got caught by the momentum and were sent flying away but, luckily, they managed to land safely to watch the building go out in flames.

It was a frightening sight, to know they could have met their end right there at the hands of M.E.C.H. after eons fighting the war for Cybertron.

Arcee couldn't take her optics off the burning building, but was the only one to voice the question going though everyone's minds. "So, any idea where they're keeping the rest of Breakdown?"

* * *

Mayhem had been stealthily following the tire tracks on foot for a while now, mainly due to her alt-mode being a flyer type and not exactly quiet. It was a challenge not to charge in and run after the vehicle that had left the imprints behind, but she endured none the less. To her the drab atmosphere made the buildings look the same and she prayed the tracks weren't some sort of decoy and she'd find herself to have been walking in circles the entire time.

Using the time she had, Mayhem though back to her Carrier. The older femme had her reasons to not want her daughter in the battlefield, but she didn't realize the more the young seeker was pushed away the more she pushed back. Being cooped up inside the base with occasional break for patrolling and goofing off wasn't something that pleased Mayhem in the slightest, not when a war was taking place between factions.

It was a vicious cycle between the two of them, it had always been. When Mayhem had first seen Solarflare in 'action' through the cameras in the surveillance room of the bar back of Cybertron it was as if a whole new world had been born before her very young, impressionable optics. Suddenly being trapped in the district wasn't such a bad thing because bots from every corner of Cybertron went through there all the time, she could grow up to talk to them and get information from places she'd never be allowed to visit or even be supposed to know about. No more datapads with stories accompanied by imagined illustrations when she could goad gullible mechs into showing her the pictures of the real deal and tell her first-hand accounts of those places. She would be able to go everywhere yet remain safe in her home, a win-win situation in her mind, even if her Carrier did not agree with her reasoning.

Snapping out of her reverie while looking over the corner of one of the apartment complexes, Mayhem saw a green car go by and quickly pressed herself against the concrete while maintaining a visual, praying her wings wouldn't her undoing.

"Please don't see me, please don't see me." She whispered, while at the same time loathing a certain insult thrown at her by her brother, who'd called her a kite during many of their disputes.

She kept following the car closely with her optics, which drove around the buildings and right through the middle of some nearby train tracks, and only lost it from sight when it went into a train tunnel not far up ahead.

When the vehicle was gone she ran up to the entrance and looked around. There was no-one else around as far as she could discern, so decided to keep going up ahead, her hammer already out and wings tucked as far back as possible in order to avoid the walls or low ceiling.

She was ready to pound those humans down into pulp. Optimus' orders or not, those organics were definitely not safe from being sent to where they went after dying.

* * *

Under Breakdown's constant gaze the demented surgery kept on going ahead. With him being unable to stop the detested humans from performing their demented experiments on him there was no way to stop his further dismantling. He'd long ceased struggling, knowing he'd be unable to even run away in his current state. Such a fate for a Decepticon was indeed cruel, to be offlined by those weaker than him was unacceptable of someone in his rank.

"Enjoying the view?" Silas taunted from his place up in the platform, gazing down at the defenseless Cybertronian. "Ironically, your would-be rescuers would be in far more pieces than you, right now."

"Decepticons don't break that easy!" Shouted Breakdown.

Was it true? Had his comrade actually came for him? Had Megatron deemed him of such importance he'd dispatched a rescue team? His spark clenched at the both thoughts of being rescued and being seen in such a state.

When he'd joined the ranks he left behind a part of himself. There was no place for soft sparks among his brethren, be it on the battlefield or in the war room, and so decisions Autobots deemed hard were easily pushed though the Decepticons. You were alone and trapped in a hostile zone? Good luck, because there would be no one coming for you and you were deemed disposable for having placed yourself in such a situation. Sometimes he would 'hang out' with the faceless drones, try and keep from withering that old part of him that wanted to create a better Cybertron for everyone who'd been oppressed, but he knew it was all in vain. There was a reason they always had an undying amount of Vehicon spare parts.

"Who said they were Decepticons?"

That had caught the mech by surprise. Who else would put their sparks on the line to rescue a Decepticon? "That doesn't make sense, Autobots wouldn't come to rescue me. Not even Makers would be willing to do so."

Out of nowhere the sound of pounding began to emanate from not far up ahead and the floor lightly shook with each impact. The crew of scientists stopped their work and wondered what could be happening for their defenses to be falling under such stress.

It would seem the rescue was indeed on its way and were already breaking and entering.

Silas roughly shoved an operative aside and immediately pulled up the video feed onto the main screen. Their main door to the exterior was looking very much dented and it wouldn't take long before it fell to the attacks. It was obvious their intruder was of the same variety of the one they had strapped down and thoroughly examined, so their defenses would not stand for long.

"More grist for the mill." Whispered the man. Better than a test subject were even more of them. "Everyone, move out!" He ordered.

Silas and the rest of the operatives around him exited through the only door up in the platform, knowing whoever was coming would have the upper-hand… as long as they didn't have the proper weapons.

Also, Makers, huh? What seemed to be a two-way war was actually three-faceted… interesting.

* * *

The troops grouped around the heavily reinforced metal door, their weapons trained and ready to shoot any intruder that came though into their hideout. The dents continued to grow on the outer door, whoever was on the other side insisting on getting though, no matter how many attempts it took.

After one last bang the air suddenly grew quiet, confusing the M.E.C.H. goons, before a loud battle cry echoed throughout the tunnel and the door went flying off over their heads with the last hit from a gigantic hammer. Said weapon came down onto the floor right after, creating a sizeable crater and dispersing the crowd of armed men.

"And now, for you entertainment, MAYHEM!" Announced the Maker, as if she were stepping onto a stage.

Caught by surprise, the soldiers attempted to shot down the the seeker, but nothing seemed to work against her armor. They soon began to disperse, knowing their fates would be sealed with a single blow, as the femme used her hammer as a sort of pestle. She was very much aware that wildly swinging her weapon could cause a cave-in, and that would not be good. She was not Airachnid.

Eventually all the humans had dispersed and not even one remained behind, so Mayhem carried on, careful to look out for any traps, her ever-trusty hammer slung over her shoulder.

It only took a few steps and curve later for her to spot Breakdown. He did look like he was in the process of being Frankensteined, trapped and in the middle of being torn apart by horror-movie-looking machinery, and did make quite an impact.

Once again, human movies had steered her in the right way and even sort of prepared her to see such a scenery.

Carefully, Mayhem approached the Decepticon and looked down into his optics, his surprise clear on them. He really had not expected to see her again.

"My brother couldn't finish you off but humans almost did… I wonder if there's any irony in that." The femme pondered out loud, her expression stony and unmoving.

AS she reached down, Breakdown closed his good optic in preparation, fully expecting the femme to finish the job… only for him to feel her tear off his restraints. He opened his optic in surprise and wondered what had prompted her to come all this way just to release him. In the back of his processor he wondered if it was only for her brother to be the one to finish him off.

Mayhem offered up the servo that wasn't holding a giant scepter-like hammer and made a motion for him to take it. They had to get out of there before backup undoubtedly arrived and caused even more trouble for them.

"Wha-what are you doing?" Breakdown couldn't believe he was seeing this.

"Helping you up, what does it look like?"

Hesitantly taking her offer, he found himself back on his pedes and free of any restraints. She was actually on a mission to rescue him! "Didn't expect that, to be honest. Thanks, erm…"

"Complimented my aft but doesn't even know my name, aren't you a charmer." She gave him a deadpan look but then a contradictory smirk right after. "It's Mayhem and if you do anything like that again I'll make sure you can't even say it. Now, please have the decency to cover up and answer me this, can you walk?"

Breakdown quickly shut his open chassis and rotated his shoulders. "I think so."

The Decepticon still couldn't figure out why the Maker had put her spark on the line for his. Their first encounter hadn't went well at all, with her automatically hating him due to his faction and rivalry with Bulkhead, and her brother had even went after him later that day and would have likely offlined him, Knock Out and Starscream had it not been for the Harvester. Breakdown honestly was having a hard time pinning down the femme as a certain type but the more he though the weirder it got, so it would be best to stop his mind before it went further.

An alarm began sounding, startling both Cybertronians. The seeker's entrance had obviously not went unnoticed and now they had to escape before they both ended up as science experiments.

"Scratch that, how about run?" Asked Mayhem while making a motion towards the way she'd come in through.

"Never run when you can fight." Breakdown deployed his hammer with glee. It was payback time.

"Fair warning, touch me even once with that thing and I'll be the one to finish what the humans started."

Mayhem ran up ahead with Breakdown following right behind her, both eager to find their way out of the cramped abandoned tunnel. The mech also had though that he refused to voice, knowing the femme hadn't been joking… it wasn't his fault she had a great aft!

More humans showed up to try and block the Cybertronians' way back to the outside, but were quickly barreled through and shoved to the side by the eager pair. With the exit already in their sight they wouldn't stop until they were finally out of that chamber of horrors… and surrounded by an army of M.E.C.H thugs. Scrap.

Exiting the tunnel the two Cybertronians were greeted with a barrage of shots coming from soldiers, cars and even more heavily armed helicopters. It was likely a contingency plan the organization had up their sleeve in case of a break-out and it was working very well.

The two bots brought up their arms in an attempt to shield themselves from their more vulnerable parts getting targeted, but it looked like there was barely an opening for them to get away without much of a mess.

Getting tired of those vermin having the upper hand, Breakdown shot back with his shoulder canon, taking out two cars and a few soldiers, but did not have much of an overall effect, not even when his move gave Mayhem the opportunity to struck her hammer down and send a humans flying away.

"You have some sort of escape plan?" Breakdown asked, unsure of how they would get out that situation. He wasn't much of a planner, preferring to stick to following orders.

"Yeah, but it won't be pleasant for neither of us." Mayhem already could image the talk-down she´d be getting, but commed the big bot himself either way. They needed help and fast! "Optimus, I found Breakdown and broke him out, but we need backup and fast!"

The Decepticon had his reservations about being greeted by a rescue of a team of Autobots but, at the moment, complaining wouldn´t be the best idea. He was growing tired of the fleshies up in one of the helicopters taking shots at his helm so he grabbed the nearest thing, a human car, and threw it at the helicopter, creating an explosion that got him rid of those annoying pests.

Mayhem, also having grown tired of not doing anything to defend herself, raised her hammer up high and brought it down with a resounding smash, crushing whoever had the unfortunate luck of being in the vicinity and pushing back the rest of the troops with the blast of wind generated by her strike. While distracted by her small victory she failed to notice one of the helicopters readying to take her down and, had it not been for what happened next, she wouldn´t have survived.

Breakdown had been in the middle of disposing of more of the human ground vehicles when he noticed one of the helicopters had stopped shooting and was preparing to fire an energy blast aimed at Mayhem. In an uncharacteristic act of altruism he ran up to the Maker and knocked her out of harm's way, both narrowly avoiding the explosion, with him landing on top of her.

"Woa, big guy, buy me dinner first, won't you?" Mayhem laughed before pushing him away from her and getting back up, pulling him along the way with up.

The battle continued on, now both Cybertronians back-to-back smashing though their opponents. It seemed as if there was an endless fodder to M. .´s arsenal, the two loosing count of ow many cars and soldiers they smacked away. With the shots hitting them at every turn it wouldn´t take long before they grew tired but they kept pushing forward, hoping reinforcements would come soon to their aid.

Inside the main helicopter, the pilot now had the two giant robot aliens in sight and was ready to shoot when five dots appeared on the radar and the man halted his progress. They could take down two but surely the ones inbound would demand retribution and they were coming in fast.

"Sir, incoming enemies!" Warned the pilot, waiting for the orders of his superior.

Silas could not believe it. They already had the information needed but nothing would ever top having a captured subject for further testing and experimentation, but if they remained and attempted to fend off the reinforcements they would almost likely fail and all their efforts would have been for nothing. M.E.C.H. was about to make a break-though and take over the world with their new and improved technology, so there was no room for error so far into their plans.

Having made his decision, the man picked up the intercom and spread the orders to his soldiers. "All units, disengage and initiate omega protocols."

Mayhem and Breakdown noticed the humans retreating, their helicopters flying away, followed on the ground by the cars the remaining soldiers were hurriedly cramming themselves into for fear of being left behind. The two Cybertronians kept fighting until the last of their enemies had retreated, only stopping when they noticed the sound of aerial engines approaching.

"Your backup?" Breakdown asked.

It was then that five jets came into view, transforming mid-air and landed in front of the two bots. Starscream and for Vehicons stared at the battleground before them and at the two unlikely allied that had fought against the humans and stood their ground.

"Yours." Mayhem dejectedly responded. Why hadn´t the others came yet?!

"Commander Starscream!" Exclaimed the blue and orange mech, surprised that there had been indeed an inbound rescue party to release him from the grasp of the humans.

"Consorting with the enemy, Breakdown?" The seeker asked with an edge to his voice, walking ahead with nothing to stop him from getting closer with the heavy-duty Decepticon.

"Mayhem got me out of there!"

"Oh, on a name basis, were we now?" Was the sarcastic remark before Starscream turned to the femme. "Many sparkfelt thanks, Maker. Now destroy her."

Mayhem settled the handle of her hammer over one of her shoulders and narrowed her optics. She would not go down that easily, not to that squawking mech imitation of Stagefright and to the very same Decepticon she´d just rescued.

Breakdown looked at the femme. For some reason he didn´t feel that much hatred towards her anymore, even after her brother had pretty much promised to offline him. "But-"

"Do you plan on joining their ranks any time soon? No! Then be done with her already!" The Commander stiffly pointed at the Maker and got up-close to his underling, his presence commanding total and utter obedience.

He didn´t have much of a choice, did he? "Touch break, sweetaft, maybe in the next life." Breakdown deployed his hammer and attacked without hesitation.

Mayhem, already having expected such an action, avoided being struck by the Decepticon and gathered all her strength and took a swing with her own hammer at the mech, throwing him onto Starscream and the accompanying Vehicons.

"I warned you!" She held her weapon proudly while smirking. No one caught her off-guard in such a predictable scenario. "Who else wants their tailpipe kicked?!"

The Decepticon seekers swiftly got up and aimed their weapons, but before they could even begin their attack they were surprised with shots from the rear, curtesy of the Autobot cavalry that had arrived just in time.

Optimus, Bumblebee, Arcee and Ratchet were surprised to hear from Mayhem, even more when she proclaimed to have rescued Breakdown and they were in need of backup. Wasting no time they drove to the sight only to find M.E.C.H. already gone and Starscream along with a few drones wanting to take a shot at the femme. They drew their blasters and fired without hesitation, unsure of why Decepticons were there in the first place but questions would have to remain for later.

Starscream snarled. Always those pesky Autobots that seemed to arrive right on time every single time with their darned luck. "Retreat!" He ordered to his troops.

The seekers flew over Mayhem and away from the fight, while Breakdown followed in his vehicle mode, almost trampling over the fame femme that had risked herself to save him. Once a Decepticon, always a Decepticon, there was no way around it. Like he said, maybe in the next life thing would be different.

Mayhem stared at the retreating Decepticons and put away her hammer with a sigh and a shake of her helm. Her Carrier was right, a bot couldn't ever change who they really were, no matter how much one attempted to make them change their ways. Some bots were just bad with no leeway for change.

Optimus approached the young femme and noticed the look in her optics. Disappointment in herself and in Breakdown. "Have you learned nothing about engaging the enemy on your own, Mayhem?"

"I could say yes, but I´d be lying. Sorry." She faced the taller Cybertronian and lightly crossed her arms while looking away.

"In any case, you rescued a Decepticon, even putting yourself at risk to do so. I am proud of you."

"Yeah…" It would be best not to mention the humans she'd likely killed. "Thanks, I guess."

Arcee saw the way the seeker seemed disappointed and though of a way to cheer her up. "Now all we have to do is see what Bulkhead thinks of it. You did rescue Breakdown and even kicked his aft afterwards."

"I'm more worried about mom, to be honest." Mayhem chuckled. "I wonder what she'll say."

* * *

"You're ok!"

The second the team stepped through the groundbridge back home, Mayhem was hugged by Bulkhead.

"Whoa!" Mayhem reeled in from the surprise. "Yeah, I'm fine."

The wrecker let go of the Maker and did a once-over. She looked a little dented here and there, along with patches of soot all over her frame, but beyond the superficial injuries she looked unharmed.

Bulkhead had gotten thinking during all the time he had to himself. Mayhem had wanted to go, even if she despised the Con almost as much as he did, all so that everyone could be safe and their enemies list not to grow another name on it. He'd felt bad for letting the bot that he proudly proclaimed to be HIS nemesis have to be rescued by the rest of team Prime and even Mayhem had tagged along, putting the overall good of mankind over her safety.

"What were you thinking, doing all that by yourself?" Asked the worried wrecker.

"That's what I want to know!" Solarflare pushed him aside to stand in front of her daughter. It were times like these she wished not to be the shorter one. "You've got a lot of explaining to do!"

Coming from down the hallways to see what the commotion was all about, Doomsday and Airachnid approached the newly-arrived Team Prime and the Maker who'd apparently went along with them on what appeared to have been either a dangerous mission or she'd put herself in harm's way unnecessarily.

"What happened to you?" The Forget smiled, awaiting eagerly the story of Mayhem had done something that somehow had miraculously worked out.

"Did something reckless, was it?" Airachnid put her hand on her hips and gave the younger seeker a knowing look. That was going to be a good one, she just knew it.

"Yeah, well…" The purple and white seeker scratched at her helm and sheepishly looked aside before having a though. "Hey, you two on good terms again?! Sweet!"

"Don't think you're getting yourself out of this one, Mayhem!" The older femme was not in the mood for diversions, even if she was glad the other two had patched up without the help of high-grade.

"It's… it's kind of a long story."

Did she think Breakdown had chosen then wrong side? Definitely.

Did she regret her actions?... Naw, she got an amazing story out of it.


	30. Repulsion and attraction

**AN: This is one of my shortest chapters in a while but my depression hit me rather hard these past two weeks and I had to write for other fandoms in order to get inspiration to continue my main fic. I'm sorry if you were expecting more battles but when it came to it my mind was 'meh' and I know when I am out of bounds.**

* * *

The day had begun like any other. Quiet and calmness reined inside the base as the Cybertronians rose from their recharge cycles. No ominous visits from Agent Fowler or plans from the Decepticons seemed to be on the schedule for the day, so Optimus Prime had deemed to put some of his time in patrolling alongside Bumblebee, a way to strengthen the bond with his scout, so it would seem.

Then Mayhem woke up after a long night playing online PVP shooters and silence lost its meaning.

The sound had begun low, as the young femme tuned her instrument under the eager gaze of the wrecker, but soon it reverbed throughout the entire base, no one's audio receptors safe from its pitch and imposing volume. The guitar played anything from old rock classics to newer thrash metal in the servos of the heavy-duty seeker, not a minute more of quietness being able to make its way through the barrier of sound.

"What in the name of Primus is that sound?!" Arcee shouted over the noise.

The two-wheeler had her servos cradling her helm and an expression that demanded answers fast or else someone would be getting seriously hurt. She'd wanted to use that time to, for once, rise slowly and enjoy the day ahead of her but falling off her berth from a near spark-failure had taken away all that magic and replaced it

"Mayhem!" Solarflare came soon behind the blue femme from the hallway and had her 'parenting face' on as soon as the sound had reached her audio receptors.

"What?" Arcee couldn't understand what had been shouted.

"Mayhem!"

"What?"

Solarflare gave up and headed over to her daughter, brushing past Bulkhead, who instantly flinched, and making a grab for the guitar, forcefully extracting it from her daughter's grip. Honestly, the attitude she got from Mayhem was slowly but surely grating on her nerves and one of those days she was going to say something she deeply regretted if she didn't kept her temperament in check.

"Hey, I was playing that!" Without thinking twice, the heavy-duty seeker complained to the person who'd taken her guitar but ended up regretting it immediately after.

Oh Solus, there was no way to be saved from that one now. Playing loud music and yelling at her Carrier always got her an immediate grounding, no questions asked.

"Mayhem! Other bots have audio receptors besides you!"

Still caught up in her music-high the seeker did not choose her next words carefully. "Yeah, and they love it! Right?" She gestured towards the green wrecker.

Bulkhead shrunk under Solarflare's gaze and began stuttering. "Well, as far as my experience goes… I mean, this type of music is, erm…. I guess, if you say it like that…"

Understanding her position as outnumbered, the white and purple seeker crossed her arms. "Traitor." Mayhem whispered before looking over to the other two elder femmes. "You two over there, any complaints?"

Doomsday and Airachnid had been in one corner of the room since they'd gotten up, each sitting on a crate with a taller one in the middle in an impromptu table-like setting. A holopad in the middle projected a deck of cards the two had been using to play Praxus Hold 'Em non-stop while listening to Mayhem's musical number. To some it may have been over the top and very bothersome but it reminded them, to a certain degree, of home and the fun times they used to have back in the good old days.

"I didn't mind. Reminded me of the downtime we used to have." Airachnid shrugged as she examined her draw. She had a god chance to win this next round…

"I'd drink to that." Doomsday raised an invisible symbolic cube of energon while remaining focused on her cards. Could she successfully bluff on this round or…?

"See?" Mayhem wildly gestured towards the two uninterested femmes before deciding she would be needing a little more backup. "How about you, Rad?"

Said Maker was sitting on a crate and playing a racing game without bothering anyone, or even uttering a word for that matter. He seemed entranced by the images displayed on the screen, handling the control with practiced easy but having trouble with that particular track, as evidenced by his frown and occasional whispered 'come on'. When there was no response from his part everyone easily deduced what had happened.

"Rad? I need your help here." The heavy-duty seeker went over to her friend and snapped her digits in front of the sparkling's faceplate, effectively breaking the spell he'd fallen under. "Hey, little mech, back me up."

"Oh, sorry, what?" Pressing a button on the side of his helm, Radical finally paid attention to his friend's complaints and paused his run on the racing game. "I kind of turned off my audio receptors."

"Annnnd Mayhem loses another round. Ladybots and gentlemechs, we have our winner." Silverbolt emerged from the insides of the base with a grin spanning his entire faceplate and an air of smugness about him.

"Oh, shove it." Mayhem resisted the urge to shout some colorful language at her brother. That smug, unbearable piece of scrap, always a mister perfect that couldn't do anything wrong…

"Please, I'll bet Ratchet also turned off his audio receptors. Right?" The triple-changer shouted to the medbot, who remained oblivious, and smirked. He had his unbearable sister right where he wanted her. "See?"

Solarflare signed. Not again with the infighting and 'poking sleeping bears'. It was bad enough her youngest was already more than anyone could handle, but put together with her brother they could cause some serious damage is their fight ever escalated that far. They were both heavyset bots with an ability to do serious damage and, if pointing their weapons at each other, they could bring the whole base down on them in a flash.

The white and green seeker was putting an end to it before anything started that she couldn't put an end to. Placing herself in-between the quarreling younglings, Solarflare steadied her cooling fans. "Let's put a stop to this. You're lucky Optimus is on patrol, what would he say if he saw this behavior?"

"That my skills are awesome?" Mayhem was swift to receive a glare… but that only gave her another idea for a plan of attack. "Has Silver told you he was the one that caused a collapse in that ravine Fowler was yelling about yesterday?"

"He what?!" That was news Solarflare did not like hearing one bit. Turning to her son she marched forward until she was near enough to jump up, grab his chestplates, and bring him down to her eye level. "You what?!"

Silverbot could not think of anything he could say that could save him. Looking over to his sister, the one who sentenced him to damnation, he saw her mouth 'game over' with a grin and nudge Bulkhead while motioning towards him.

Arcee could only stand where she was and observe the weird interactions the day was bringing along. Sometimes her processor would freeze at the interactions observed between the Makers. There she was, observing a Carrier attempting to punish her offspring, both of which were taller than her and the eldest was a triple-changer, while other two Makers of about the same age played Praxus Fold 'Em in a corner and, to top it all off, a mech forever stuck in seekerlet form played a racing game in makeshift console for human games.

Everything seemed so normal but at the same time different. Like a weirdness to the normalcy ratio that skewed the scales and scrambled what was usual with what wasn't.

While the discussion was going on Ratchet was the only one remaining oblivious to it all, being the only one investigating an odd fluctuation to Earth's magnetic field he'd detected. He hadn't wanted to alarm any of the Autobots or Makers with a regular fluctuation in the planet's magnetic field but this seemed not to be the case.

"That's odd, this is an extremely unusual magnetic flux… for any planet." The medbot commented aloud and turned on his audio receptors just in time to hear Solarflare scream at her offspring.

"You are so grounded! Both of you!" Shouted the white and green seeker.

"But he's supposed to help me test my upgraded tracking system." Arcee quickly put herself in harm's way, so to speak, to try and defend her partner.

"Well, now he's not."

The two-wheeler suppressed a growl and a frustrated sigh came out in its place. _Again_ with the grounding, as if those two were still sparklings. How many missions had Silverbot missed with her, even routine patrols, because of something so minimal?

"Uh oh." Bulkhead murmured. He knew what the blue femme was like when frustrated/angry and a fight could break out any time soon if space wasn't put between her and Solarflare.

Not wanting to get caught in the middle of a metaphorical tug-of-war or anything that resembled it, Ratchet turned to the resident wrecker to give him a job. "Bulkhead, I need you back in the field to investigate an odd magnetic disturbance."

The medbot knew how clingy and unforgiving Solarflare could be when it came to her offspring, so it was best to steer clear of any discussions concerning her parenting style. Anyone who's raised such a headstrong pair of siblings was not a force to be trifled with and to pit forces against each other plus an innocent medbot in the middle made Ratchet shudder at the results that involved the tearing down of his mental walls.

"I'll go with!" Mayhem promptly offered but was stopped by Bulkhead's servo on her shoulder to urge her to remain still and met with denial from the wrecker. No, not him too, she mused.

"You do that and I swear it'll be the last you see of the sky in a very long time." Solarflare warned.

With a sigh, Mayhem promptly gave up, knowing her Carrier would make true to her word. "Sorry, Bulk, Major Buzzkill here won't let me go."

"Mayhem…" Silverbot whispered. He did not fancy getting their Carrier any angrier than she already was.

"Wait up, Bulkhead, I'm going with." Arcee shrugged and went ahead.

The groundbridge was onlined and the two Autobots went through the groundbridge, leaving the Makers behind. Neither of the two wanted to go on that mission without their best friends but it was always hard to argue with Solarflare, the femme knew how to stand her ground and packed a mean glare that made a bot feel like it was their own Carrier staring down disapprovingly at them. It was a cheap tactic but it worked every time.

"Thanks a lot, Mayhem, I just lost my shot to go on a mission." The triple-changer huffed at his sister and went to sit next to Radical, wanting to not have to look at the one who'd doomed him to confinement and deprived him of another mission.

Mayhem growled and went to her side as well, pulling up a crate to sit next to the card game and watch the two femmes play. It was only fair they both had to share the punishment. Why did she have to pay for her actions and Silverbot did not?

Ratchet could only stand and watch as the scene unfold. He'd seen a lot of sibling spats, but never one where there was a Carrier involved to separate the warring parties, that job belonging usually to the officer in charge of the unit or to the some bot that was reasonable or strong enough to separate them.

"How did you ever managed to raise them both?" The medbot wondered aloud.

Solarflare could only close her optics and wish for Solus to gift her with the wisdom to go through it all over again. As usual. "Patience, learned aptitude and a lot of help."

* * *

The two Autobots trekked their way up a rocky hill with leisure, steadily following the way up to where the magnetic fluctuation was originating from, but the air around them was filled with tension.

The abrupt leave of the two bots had left many things unsaid, especially on the two-wheeler's part, and that was stewing away in her processor, just waiting for the right moment to pop off and give way to a mess no one would want to go near of when it burst.

"C'mon Arcee, don't be like that. Solarflare is just… strict, with Silverbot." With the little confidence he had in his words, the wrecker attempted to placate Arcee.

Bulkhead didn't know what else to say to his teammate. It was obvious the older femme could be an unexpected bump in the road at some turns but that was because she worried about her offspring. He couldn't even remember the last time he'd seen an actual family together, maybe before the war had started, but after that… well, things got unpredictable.

"That's not being strict, Bulk, that's being blind to reality." Arcee had already had enough of the mothering and suffocating on Solarflare's part. Sometimes interfering with missions just because her offspring had done something she disapproved off… everyone did stupid things sometimes, for Primus' sake! "Seriously, the mech is about Bumblebee's age and more than capable of taking the fall for his decisions without having a Carrier looking over his shoulder."

"She does that because she cares for him and you know it."

"Yes, but…" She had to pause there and find the right words. "Somehow I feel like I'm not enough for him."

Bulkhead was caught off-guard and said the first thing that came to his mind. "You crushin' on Silver or something?"

"What?! No!"

Unfortunately the wrecker's words had triggered some of the two-wheeler's rage and he shrank in fear as she raised her arms in exasperation. He hadn't meant to imply anything bad, per say, but had still managed to set-off an alarm in his clumsy scrambling about, which made him question the validity of her words. Such a quick answer could be a sign she hadn't thought all the way through before her processor, like a sort of defense system.

He hummed in a fake acceptance of the words. "Sure sounds like it."

"Oh, would you quit it? It's not as if you and Mayhem are so discreet about it."

"What about me and her?"

Oh, he wanted to play that game? He couldn't be that unaware and Arcee could play it all day long. "Seriously? You don't see it?"

"See what?"

Well, apparently he was really that unaware. "Nothing, apparently."

"C'mon, Cee, you gotta tell me!"

Bulkhead ran up to his mission partner and she proceeded to ignore his attempts ate getting an answer out of her. He needed to find that out for himself because whatever Mayhem though was there was a fickle thing, everyone could tell. If Wheeljack had stayed maybe the affections held by the heavy-duty seeker could have swung the other way, even with Doomsday and Airachnid present. Makers really had their own way of looking at things that sometimes could baffle the average bot.

"Quiet down, we're getting close to the anomaly."

"Fine." "Looks like Ratchet's magnetic flux is coming from just about-"

The two Autobots had to duck behind the rocky formations in order not to be spotted by two struggling mechs down below. It seemed the other side had gotten to whatever was causing the fluctuation before they did.

Lockdown and Breakdown were fighting rather fiercely over some sort of handheld device. The Decepticon found himself being punched rather violently by the rouge bounty hunter and shoved into the side of the hill with a well-placed punch. It was then that Lockdown committed the mistake of turning his back on the 'Con to try and retrieve the device but he soon found himself in a headlock and the two continued fighting over what they'd initially went there to gather.

Breakdown had promised not to fail Lord Megatron, his grim reminded of being held captive by the humans still fresh in the form of an eyepatch, and it could be his only chance to prove he was on par with the Autobots and Makers after losing the optic.

Lockdown, on the other hand, was tracking down the device purely out of self-interest. He'd wanted a way out of that wretched mud ball of a planet and before him was the precise way to guarantee himself a ticket out of there, plus another one for the love of his life. He would fight for as long as needed to prove himself and get what he wanted, and in that case the ticket could also buy him a way into Airachnid's spark in his optics.

"Lockdown." Arcee clenched her servo. She had a score to settle with that mech.

Noticing the handheld device the two were fighting over, Bulkhead wondered why it was of such importance. "Those two are really not backing down over whatever that is."

"The source of the magnetic disturbance."

Deploying their weapons, the two Autobots nodded at each other and steeled themselves for what was to come. The two-way fight was about to become a three-way brawl.

* * *

Back at the base the tension was still heavily felt as the siblings took it upon themselves to look at each other every once in a while and growl. Neither wanted to back down from their hold on the position of… well, something, because they'd forgotten the true reason they were supposed to be fighting. All they could recall was a spat and it was a race to end up on top to claim superiority.

Solarflare had become increasingly tired of the sibling rivalry making itself felt with the gentleness of a bull in a china shop and no amount of attempting to distract herself by reading medical datapad after medical datapad could ease her conscience. She'd done the best she could, just like ever since the day she got Silverbot and, later, Mayhem, and watching her two little sparklings fight over something so insignificant really grated on her nerves.

"Mayhem, Silverbot, please quit with those faces, my mind is set." The seeker set her datapad aside and looked between her offspring. Still acting like sparklings after this long, honestly…

"This is all your fault." Silverbot hissed with crossed arms.

"If I'm going down, you'll bet you're coming with." Mayhem retorted and mirrored her brother's gesture.

With a sigh Solarflare came a step closer to giving up and did an introspection on her life. "What did I ever do to deserve this?"

"Oh please, you used to be way worse." Airachnid smirked and played her next card.

"A real diva, actually." Doomsday carefully considered her options as she remembered her friend's past attitudes.

"That was different!" The seeker was quick to defend herself against the accusations, even though she knew they were true.

"Yeah right, and I didn't hear you say the words 'I'm not selfish, I deserve every last thing'. Both as a sparkling and as an adult, might I add."

"No way!" Mayhem knew her Carrier refused to talk about most of her past, so it came to her as a shock what the white and green seeker used to sound like. "Mom, you used to be way cooler than I thought!"

"I was not!" Solarflare rushed to try and undo the damage the Forger had caused. "Doomsday, how do you even remember that? You were barely every walking sober!"

"I used to watch over you while your Carrier took over the stage, I know everything."

"You took care of her? As a sparkling?" The medbot couldn't help but voice his surprise, the time for being quiet having ended the moment he heard those words.

It was at that time something had clicked into place for Ratchet. He'd though the three eldest Makers were about the same age, it was hard to exactly pin down a Cybertronian's age after a while, but someone so old shouldn't even be able to do half the things Doomsday did. The femme was proven to be a walking disaster waiting to happen, her careless handling of explosive and corrosive materials should have long put her into an early grave but, miraculously, that had not happened so far. For her to be old enough to have held Solarflare in her lap as a sparling was just an impossibility.

"Yep. She was adorable, if I may say so." Doomsday cooed as she relieved her old memories. Marmoreal had truly left an amazing daughter behind.

"How is that even…?! How old are you?!"

"I dunno, most of my memory is blank."

"Exactly!" Solarflare exclaimed with outrage to her voice. "Then why do you remember it?!"

"The mind is a funny place, I can't remember how do you build a T-Cog but I remember how I liked my drinks." The Forger could only shrug and laugh.

"Very intoxicating." Radical said from his place in front of the gaming console, not taking his optics off the game. His Carrier had never made it a secret how she used to spend most of her time before he'd come into her life.

"You know it!"

Solarflare groaned and facepalmed, slowly running her servo over her faceplate in defeat. It was useless to argue with someone so used to defending her point while drunk… because sober she was unstoppable and relentless. "Sometimes I feel like I'm a Carrier of four…"

"I still do not understand what is happening here." Ratchet complained as he tried to decipher the mystery of Doomsday's age.

"Welcome to the club."

A comm link request by Bulkhead came through at that point, diverting the medbot's attention. Taking the call, Ratchet had not expected to hear from the team so soon, but quickly realized something was definitely wrong. His problems not only were about to go up but they also seemingly came in double.

"Ratchet, we kinda need your help…" Began Bulkhead, before the two-wheeler took over.

"We're stuck together, magnetized if you will. We cannot break apart no matter what." Arcee's frustration was palpable through her voice. She sounded a little tired, likely from trying to dislodge herself from the vicinity of the wrecker's frame.

"You've been magnetized? Together?" Ratchet had a hard time believing what he was being told. For such a thing to be possible, it could only be work of a diabolical invention.

"Is this one of those hearing wedding bells stuck together or…" Mayhem trailed off.

"No!" Bulkhead shouted and quickly began correcting the femme. "I've got Arcee literally stuck to my back and now the device that did this is on its way to Megatron."

"A polarity gauntlet. A deceptively simple yet diabolical creation." Ratchet nodded. He now understood the seriousness of the situation.

The others let go of what they'd been doing and came closer to the mech, hoping to get in on the details. Even Mayhem and Silverbot had forgotten their spat and neared the medbot, hoping to obtain more cheering news from the other side. Neither dared yet to ask to go as backup, the issue still too fresh on their Carrier's mind and, as such, she would not let herself be contradicted.

"Just tell me you can unhitch us, Ratchet." Arcee sighed and let herself rest from her attempts at trying to dislodge herself from her teammate's back.

"It may simply be a residual magnetic charge providing your current… attraction." Ratchet hesitated to use the term but could not find any better at the present moment. "But I'm sure retrieving the gauntlet is our surest way for reversing its effect. Once Megatron gets its servos on the gauntlet-"

"He'll use it for a lot more than attaching magnets to someone while they recharge." Silverbot looked down at his sister with a shifty look in his optics. He still hadn't forgotten that prank she'd pulled with the help of Radical.

"One time that happened. One." Mayhem pouted and looked away. It had been hilarious and she stood by her work.

"Anyway…" Solarflare came in-between the siblings to break them apart. "If Megatron could control the polarization of our frames he would become untouchable."

"Instant force-field." Radical pointed out.

The white and green seeker could only imagine what such a tyrant would do with a weapon like that. He would become the definition of invulnerable, no weapon able to touch him, be it short or lose range, and not a single bot would ever bear the ability to get close enough for an assassination. It also stood that he could just as easily attract as he could repel and he would waste no time in attempting to attract her. A shudder ran down Solarflare's spinal strut as the thought haunted her processor.

"Worse yet, he might use it to meld us into a scrap pile." Ratchet fiddled with some buttons and dials on the control bridge to get a better reading on their now moving target. "The good news is the gauntlet hasn't traveled far. I would strongly advise pursuit."

"We can catch up faster in wheels." Bulkhead suggested.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, and snap me in half?" Arcee did not fancy being pulled apart after being pulled together to someone else against her will.

"Right… do you thinks it's a good idea to continue like this? It might be kinds dangerous, we should have some backup."

"We don't need backup, we got this. As far as we know Solarflare could have grounded the whole base at this point let's just keep going."

The comm turned off with Arcee's final words, leaving quite an awkward silence behind. It was anyone's move at that point that could completely flip the table on its legs.

No one dared to say anything for fear of inciting the ire of the seeker in question but she could only stare blankly at the main screen with an expression that varied between disbelief and awareness. She'd only been doing what she'd always done, protect the most important bots in her life no matter what. There was a war going on, a war that had already caused its fair share of unintended victims and displaced a whole race from their home planet, so every move they made could very well be their last and she only wanted to make sure her son and daughter lived to thee another day, another sunrise… another chance to make memories with their Carrier.

"I'm not like that…" Solarflare drifted off before looking up at her offspring in search of an answer. "Am I?"

"No." "Yep." Silverbot and Mayhem both responded at once.

The femme looked over to her friends and Radical but they merely shrugged, clearly not interested in being a part of that train wreck. None wanted to tell her what they really though on the issue because there was not a real answer they could all agree on.

Solarflare was left to her own thoughts and carefully considered her options. It seemed her caring had come out mistakenly as smothering and over-protection.

* * *

Arcee and Bulkhead had only just arrived when Mayhem threw herself in a hug at the wrecker, going on about leaving her out of the action and her being super worried about how the two Autobots would get themselves out of their sort of 'sticky' situation.

The rest of the Makers had also come closer to congratulate the two bots on the successful retrieval of the Decepticon piece of technology and Silverbot took that opportunity to put his servo on Arcee's shoulder, smiling down on his friend.

"I'm glad you're aright." Said the triple-changer. "Both of you."

Silverbot and Arcee shared a smile and, unbeknownst to them, Airachnid nudged Doomsday and gestured with her helm towards the pair.

The two friends then also shared a smile and resisted the urge to say something. It wasn't their place to say anything, those who truly sought what was present in that interaction needed to find out on their own, least, they vehemently deny any feelings and close all doors and windows out of shame.

Finally freeing himself from Mayhem's grip, Bulkhead approached ratchet and handed the medbot the piece of equipment they'd fought so hard for. "Souvenir, but-"

"We don't advise indoor use." Arcee cut off the wrecker's words in good nature.

"Eww, they even finish each-other's sentences now." The heavy-duty seeker noted with a faked nauseated expression.

"Mayhem, check it out, new battle scars." The wrecker was quick to change the subject and showed off the scratches left by the battle with Breakdown and Lockdown.

"Yeah, photo time." Mayhem palmed her holopad and set it to photo mode. "C'me here!" She pulled the mech closer to her so that they would both fit into the frame and smiled alongside her friend.

While the two heavy-hitters were immersed in their own world the crowd thinned down. Doomsday and Airachnid went back to their game and Radical to his as well, but still with their audio receptors open to anything new that may have come out of the situation.

"Hey, 'Cee-" Silverbot began but was interrupted but his Carrier coming in-between him and the two-wheeler.

"Hush, let me talk first." Solarflare gave an apologetic smile to her son and turned back to the blue femme. "Arcee, I owe you a very late apology. Not just to you, to everyone."

"You do?" Well, that was one Arcee hadn't seen coming. She'd expected none to few words, maybe an affirmation of why going outside in missions was dangerous but an apology had been out of her sight for miles.

"I worry, especially when I think I can't control things, which, with these two over here," She motioned to her son and then to her daughter. "is all the time, especially if there's a war going on. Ever since Victory passed he took a part of me with him and now I'm afraid they'll leave as well. While I can't face the reality that they can make their own decisions I try to pull them back towards me but I see that only served to drive them further away."

The seeker femme had a hard time coming to term with what she really felt about her offspring going out on missions, away from her and with other bots. It was only natural for them to want to explore and meet new bots, it was part of their coding for such ages, and trying to stop them would be like trying to stop an elephant stampede. Nature always ran its course, no matter how much one attempted to control it and take reigns to try and steer it onto another path.

"So, does that mean no more grounding before missions?" Arcee questioned.

"I can't promise anything, but I will try to be a little more lenient." Solarflare nodded. "It's hard for a Carrier to watch her little sparklings drift away, especially towards Autobots."

"What?" Bulkhead and Arcee both said at the same time. Was there something they had missed?

Doomsday and Airachnid facepalmed. All was fair in love and war, as humans said, but apparently that also applied to obliviousness.

* * *

Up in the earth's atmosphere, the Nemesis ran its course uninterrupted.

The leader of the Decepticons had patiently waited for his subordinate to come back and redeem himself with a prize capable of so much. He'd wanted to see the faces the Autobots would make when the polarity gauntlet was in his grasp and he became invulnerable to any sort of attack. He could even have it spread all over the Nemesis and coat his ship in a force field capable of repelling all enemy attacks.

Ever since Starscream had been deposed of his self-proclaimed pedestal as Lord of all Decepticons the halls had went back to their normal silence with the occasional yell by part of Lord Megatron… Like at that exact moment.

"Breakdown, I should have you scrapped for parts had you dared to come empty-handed!" Megatron was angry. Very angry. He'd wanted that polarity gauntlet to finally beat those pests and if it weren't for the so-called 'consolation prize' he would have his underling torn apart for pieces. "But I see you have brought something of almost equal value."

"Thank you, master." Those were the only words the Decepticon could say before turning around to properly show-off a rather dazed bounty hunter.

"Lockdown, it has been some time."

The mech put on his best fake smile (at that point it wasn't even a good one) and was glad he couldn't bow because he would have some choice words in that occasion. He had only wanted to get a ticket off that wretched planet via the new acquisition he would steal from both Autobots and Decepticons but it had turned on him. His plan had twisted and turned so much he'd ended up in the clutches of someone far worse than Optimus Prime, someone who would only tolerate total and utter obedience.

"Lord Megatron, it would be my honor to serve you once more." Lockdown forced himself to utter the words.

* * *

 **AN: Seriously, leave a review and ell me what you think so far.**


	31. Down under

**AN: My depression is still acting up so expect these two chapters to be just a touch shorter than the last ones, just an FYI.**

* * *

Mayhem was glad to have finally been able to go on missions again but this was just unfair. They could have been out there, kicking Decepticon tailpipe, living it big, retrieving any type of Cybertronian technology… It would have been awesome.

The sky was clear, the weather was awesome and everything was perfect for some recon. Mayhem had taken the first mission that had become available without really caring for what she'd have to do but, unfortunately, staying outside a cave in lookout was all there was to it for her. No 'Cons, no kicking tailpipe, just… nothing.

Silverbot had also gone with, also wanting to get out of the base, but he seemed to be the only one of the siblings that was uncaring for what they were there for. He'd sat down against a pile of rocks and was gazing upwards at the sky, appreciating the quietness and peace he was being gifted with.

"I was supposed to be giving a rock concert of epic dimensions, like really hitting it on the guitar, you know what I mean." She complained to her brother, pacing from one side to the other. "But all I see are boring rocks."

"And you wonder why mom insisted on you coming along." The triple-changer smiled at the not-too-distant memory.

The mech still remembered when, earlier that day, Mayhem had produced her guitar from seemingly out of nowhere and pronounced it a day to remember as she would give a concert of epic proportions with her own songs plus some out of her favorite bands. It had been amusing to watch the expressions of horror in all of the Autobot's faceplates and their own Carrier's at the sudden announcement and Ratchet swiftly pronounced he had a mission ready for a team willing to undertake it. With their Carrier sanctioning Mayhem's depart from the base, very much supported by Optimus, he also decided to tag along to try and keep his sister out of more trouble.

"From grounded to mandatorily out of the base, that femme has definitely some screws loose! And, worst of all, I'm stuck outside because somehow I could cause the cave to collapse."

"Yeah… somehow. Do you see me complaining about my side of the bargain?"

"That's because you're lame." She offered the though without hesitation

"Ouch, sister, ouch." The comeback was dripping with sarcasm as the mech stood up and stretched his joints.

Arcee and Bulkhead then emerged from the cave entrance, the wrecker holding a scanner that was beeping incessantly. They'd went in not too long ago in search of a faint energon signal but had found the mine to look like it had been cleaned out long ago, just like they'd predicted.

"By all appearances the mine's been stripped." Arcee shrugged to her partner.

"But I'm getting a signal. It's faint, but it's definitely energon." Bulkhead retorted. He knew how to use a scanner and that one told him there was energon somewhere in there.

"Doesn't make sense. This operation's been abandoned four, maybe five years, and Decepticons never leave energon behind."

"Erm, guys…" Silverbot pointed to the side where his sister had been. By that point she was nowhere to be seen at the cave entrance and certainly was on her way to cause what her namesake implied.

Looking to the side to speak to Mayhem the triple-changer had been very surprised to see she was nowhere to be seen. For someone who had the wingspan like a kite and the daintiness of an excavator that femme always managed to be quiet at the worst occasions possible… to everyone else! To her it was like a gift from Solus herself, being able to ninja her way out of or into any situations as she pleased.

"She went in, unbelievable." The blue femme shook her helm in disbelief.

"Really? Have you, you know, met my sister?" The triple-changer smiled ironically. "Silent when she wants to get out of anything she doesn't like."

Bulkhead groaned and initiated pursue of the rouge Maker. "Mayhem, get back here!" It wouldn't do him any good to lose his partner in such a short amount of time.

Left alone, the other two members of the team looked between each other for what to do next. They could remain behind and wait for Bulkhead to drag Mayhem back but that would likely not be happening any time soon and also any struggle between the two heavy-hitters could bury them inside the unstable mine.

Silverbot had to admit it would be good to break the monotony he'd been subjected to while keeping guard at the entrance. "It would be kind interesting to see, you know, if it were-"

"Safe?" Arcee cut him off. "A stripped mine can be very unstable, Silver."

"I promise to step lightly. Besides, you need someone who knows Mayhem's moves when it comes to tracking her down."

Considering the triple-changer's proposal, the two-wheeler gave in too easily for her tastes. "Just- don't tell Solarflare."

* * *

"Mayhem? Mayhem?"

Inside the mine, Bulkhead wandered aimlessly for a good few minutes attempting to try and locate the heavy-duty seeker. He knew it should be easy to locate a seeker inside such a tight space because of two reasons: seekers hated closed off spaces such as that mine and the wings didn't help when it came to hiding.

The wrecker wondered what could have caused the femme to be such risk-prone and to put herself in such perilous situations over minimal results. Solarflare and Silverbot seemed to be very reasonable, almost at the same level as Optimus, so why had Mayhem come out like she should belong to Doomsday or even Airachnid?

"Check it out, now this had the perfect acoustics for a true concert!" Speak of the devil and she shall appear from behind a column and looking very much pleased with her actions. "And now, ladybots and gentlemechs, for your entertainment, it's the one and only Mayhem! Whoa, yeah! Let's make some noise!"

In her mind the femme was transported back onto Cybertron and pictured herself on stage in front of all her friends and family, all those familiar smiles sparkling only for her and her songs alone. She didn't have to share the stage with anyone else to get all the cheers, all she needed was her guitar and her confidence to get all she wanted. The attention would be only on her and she would succeed without having to support herself on her Carrier's accomplishments or be hindered due to her Sire's doings. She would only be herself and all the bots in the Maker district would love her because of it.

Bulkhead was ready to drag the femme away when the scanner he was holding began to pick up a faint signal. He knew it was only a matter of a few missteps before a collapse could occur but he also trusted Mayhem not to do much damage while he worked. Deciding they had to make the trip count for something, he put away the piece of equipment and

"Arcee found something." The green mech spoke into his comm.

"Bulk-ead, do – rea-?" Static interference came in-between Arcee's side of the conversation. "- mineral com-tion down he- must be –ausi- -terfe-."

"Scrap, I can't make out what she's trying to say."

"Ok, maybe the acoustics aren't perfect." Mayhem shrugged with a sympathetic smile.

"Well, we're here, Ratchet's gonna want a sample."

Taking out his wrecking ball, Bulkhead went closer to one of the walls that seemed more structurally stable and began digging his way in, hoping to find something. He doubted he'd find anything any time soon but for the sake of the trip he had to at least try to maybe even bring back to base a tiny sliver of energon.

* * *

Outside of the mine the Autobots and Makers had went into karma was not being nice for them.

Within a few minutes of Arcee and Silverbot entering the dug-out cave two Decepticons landed without hesitation and, unfortunately, they were the ones that occupied the top two positions of the hierarchy.

Starscream was definitely feeling the chill down to his very spark. Every plan of his so far had failed and this one was one he'd had on reserve for a while now, just in case things ever went south and he was forced to rely on himself alone for survival. He did not want to believe it but it was almost impossible for them to be there, on that exact location, and to not be about his 'backup plan'.

"Erm, Lord Megatron, far be it from me to question your intentions, but I do not understand why we've returned here after all this time. Alone." The SIC cowered, even with his master's back towards him, as Megatron began walking forward with every intention of going inside. "Every last trace of energon was extracted from this mine, there's nothing left."

"Indulge me Starscream, won't you?" Replied the Lord of all Decepticons without ever looking back, only going ahead without ever stopping, knowing fully well his underling would follow suit.

Along the way their positions remained the same, the meek, smaller seeker taking the rear and the bigger ex-gladiator walking in the front, fully aware of what they'd likely find and what would happen when they did. He'd wanted to do this for a while now but held himself steady, knowing the time was coming to end something that should have ceased a long time ago.

The two Decepticons did not have to walk long, unaware they were not the only ones paying a visit to the mine. Three Cybertronian-built drills came into sight under a skylight and Megatron paused, causing Starscream to do the same. They were seeing the same, but their perspectives wildly varied- to one was proof of treason while to the other was insurance of survival in case of treason.

"How intriguing." Megatron said to his Second in Command, but he already knew what they'd find.

Suppressing a shudder of fear, Starscream immediately called upon his acting abilities to try and disguise the situation as he stepped forward. "Incompetent fools! This mining equipment should have been relocated, why is it still here?!" Anger towards the drones always managed to hide his own treachery against the Decepticon cause and it was his only way to save more than his paintjob.

"A most valid question."

"My apologies, master, I believe Soundwave was in charge of coordinating transport." The seeker attempted at shifting the blame, his second best tactic but it also failed, if the growl from the bigger mech was anything to go by. Looking at his master while stepping backwards he put his servos upfront in a show of fear. "But, in fairness, during your interstellar travels, we all had to assume additional responsibilities. Clearly, mistakes were made."

"Yes, clearly." Unimpressed by the theatrics of his underling, Megatron punched the nearest wall and out came an impressive cluster of energon crystals clutched in his servo. Just as he suspected. "Every last trace of energon extracted?"

"Lord Megatron, I can explain…"

"Explain what?! That you've been hoarding a supply of energon for your personal use?"

"No! Not exactly…"

"Do not take me for a fool, Starscream!" The warlord dropped the cluster and crushed it beneath his pede, effectively intimidating the smaller seeker, and began walking forward. "I have been wise to your transgressions since the beginning, not only did you pluck the dark energon from my chest in a failed attempt to snuff my spark, but you tried to rise your undead warrior with it. It is no secret you lost an arm in the process, which you since had replaced."

"You know about that?!" Starscream began receding, taking fearful steps backwards while looking up at what he assumed to be his doom.

"Soundwave is quite competent at surveillance, I can assure you. The fact is, Starscream, despite your treachery, I've allowed you to carry on because I took a certain delight in your string of failures, but you've finally become tiresome, predictable." Taking aim with his canon, Megatron took delight in his SIC's fear clearly shown in those red wide optics. "You've hit rock bottom."

"Master, please, give me one more chance! I beg of you!" Bringing his whole frame to a kneeling stance, Starscream began begging for his life in a shrill of his voice. He did not want to die, his house of cards falling around him ever since his master had returned ending with a demise inside a mine he'd carefully hid away, his frame melted into an indistinguishable puddle under the fire of the iconic fusion canon.

"You have ceased to be of use to me Starscream, so you shall simply cease to be."

On one of the sides of the skylight Arcee and Silverbot had been walking calmly when they came into view of Starscream from one of the entrances to the main room. They felt their whole frames freeze and optics widen, more at who they'd be facing than at the scene, but the outcome of the situation was sealed. There would be a fight.

Noticing his target looking away to a specific side instead of at the floor, Megatron looked away to see one of the wretched Autobots and a familiar triple-changer looking like a couple of deer in the headlights. He too was caught off-guard for a moment before deciding that eliminating them took priority and turned his canon on them with a war cry, taking shots at his enemies without much care for the integrity of the mine.

"Scrap!" Silverbot pulled Arcee along with him to hide behind a sturdy pillar while they deployed their blasters.

"Cover me!" Arcee shouted, a plan already forming in her mind.

While the fight began one certain seeker decide to take advantage of the Decepticon's leader distraction. Starscream took off in a run to the opposite side of the battle zone towards the exit in hopes of surviving, knowing the odds were stacked against him. If Megatron didn't finish him off the other two would be more than glad to do the job for him.

Noticing the retreating mech, Megatron snarled as he looked sideways. "Starscream, you dare abandon me?!" Changing his target he pointed his canon the other way and began aiming at the coward of a seeker that dared to disobey his master and shot with clear intent on snuffing out that traitorous spark once and for all.

Seeing that the warlord was distracted, Arcee steadied herself and came out of hiding to shoot at Megatron's back to get his attention and, when she garnered it and the mech attempted to take aim at her, kept shooting at the arm with the fusion canon until it accidentally shot up and hit a stalactite several times.

The heavy rock could not take all the strain and fell on top of Megatron but it also had the side effect of triggering a collapse of the whole mine. The floor began to fall as the cracks widened throughout and nothing could be made to avoid the impending disintegration of the rest of the structure of the cave.

"Scrap!" Arcee swore and began running back to her partner.

"Arcee, quick!" Silverbot held out a servo, unwilling to risk weighting down the already collapsing floor.

They both hoped for the best but just as they were about to touch the femme fell down, followed swiftly by the mech into the depths of the cave.

* * *

On another side of the mine Bulkhead and Mayhem began seeing the rocks cracking and collapsing around them, the ceiling and walls rumbling and giving in easily due to already having been stripped of energon.

"Was that either of us?" Mayhem asked in a panicked state.

A rock fell down, hitting Bulkhead on the helm and sending him crashing into the ground along with the rubble. The wrecker felt his processor spin as he lost as sense of balance and landed on his back, unable to immediately get himself back up and defend himself against the onslaught of debris falling down around him.

Mayhem saw this and rushed to protect her friend from more falling rocks, taking the brunt of the impacts on her back, groaning with each contact made with the rubble. She felt herself begin to give but persevered though, only to end up supporting a large boulder from falling onto and crushing her best friend.

It took a while for the tremors to finally cease but when they did both Cybertronians let out sighs of relief, but the ordeal was far from over. Now they would have to find a way out of the cave and out of all the rubble they were surrounded with.

"You ok, Bulk?" Asked a concerned Mayhem.

Taking a moment to assess his state, the wrecker hesitantly responded. "I feel real dizzy. You?"

"I've been better. There's this tugging sensation in my chest but I think it's because of me being supporting all this weight."

It was only then that Bulkhead noticed Mayhem holding up a boulder bigger than both of them combined from falling on top of them, a boulder that seemed to be the pillar holding up all the rubble walls around them. If the femme was to move from her current position the ceiling would collapse and crush them both.

"Whoa, let me get up and-"

"No! Don't do it if you can't or else you risk making whatever you might be suffering from worse."

With a sigh Bulkhead gave up and surrendered himself to laying there on the rocky ground. "Fine."

Looking around them the seeker made a face and began wondering why the ordeal had happened. She had fulfilled her promise to not touch anything she wasn't supposed to and Bulkhead's attempt at getting a sample to bring back to Ratchet hadn't seemed serious enough to bring the whole thing down on them. Could it really have been just bad timing coupled with compromised structural integrity?

"What do you think caused the cave-in?" She asked, attempting to shift the mech's attentions from the giant boulder literally over their helms.

"Who knows? I just hope Arcee and Silver are ok, because we really need an assist."

"You can say that again."

Mayhem just hoped any sort of assistance didn't take long because she didn't know for how long she'd be able to hold up that boulder with just sheer confidence and a smile.


	32. Keep moving on

**AN: Happy new year!**

* * *

It was with great struggle and sheer force of will that Starscream emerged victorious from the confines of his would-be rocky tomb.

The seeker took shaky steps away from the collapsed debris and coughed a few times due to the dust stuck in his intake fans. He couldn't believe he'd survived when the odds were so stacked against him, first Megatron, then the Autobot and the triple-changer and, finally, the mine collapsing all around them… nothing had been enough to take him down and snuff his spark.

Starscream thought of his enemies, all buried under the rubble with no chance of escaping, and laughed with glee. "Predictable, master? Is that what you called me? Well, now who has hit rock bottom? What's that? I'm sorry, I can't hear you beneath all that rubble? Farewell, Lord Megatron, may you rust in peace!"

He could already envision it, the Decepticon Empire at his command with no one to oppose his might. He would first destroy Earth and all its inhabitants, along with the Autobots and Makers that constantly got in his way, then he would rally all the scattered troops and begin conquering planet after planet, quadrant after quadrant, until the galaxy was his and then the Universe.

When he was about to take flight and retreat it was then that Starscream realized something very important: he'd already been in that sort of position before. So many times when all seemed to be lost and the warlord offline something always managed to bring the mech back from being one with the Allspark. There was no blaster, sword, explosive, even dark energon, no nothing that could take out the hulking brute for good and everyone knew it.

"But you have survived far worse…" The thoughts began to settle in the SIC's processor. "If you were to free yourself you would blame me for your setback and there is no place I can escape from your wrath. Or worse, yet, your mindless followers might come looking for you and take credit for your rescue… Credit that could rightfully be mine!" He couldn't let anyone else take his spot, his glory.

Yes, there was also the side of him that would do anything for recognition. The side that worked incessantly to rise to the top and gain the glory that could only be attributed by those in a station above himself. He'd done I to rise quickly through the ranks and he'd never stopped, that aspect of his personality becoming more and more evident with each promotion until he was one step away from becoming the supreme leader.

"Megatron!" With a roar into the skies the seeker went back though where he came from.

Silverbot groaned and slowly opened his optics, clutching his processor as an ache ran over it like someone had just ran him over several times. It felt more than ten times worse than Mayhem's improvised concerts, that was for sure.

Carefully getting up he maneuvered between the rocks, bringing his wings close to his frame and hunching himself to try and avoid touching the walls or ceiling, unsure if the smallest movement could cause another collapse. The stalactites seemed very unstable, that he could tell, and he was a short distance away from bumping either his helm or wing into one and he didn't want to find what type of damage he could cause himself if that occurred.

The triple-changer had very little recollection of what had happened after the debris had begun raining down when the ceiling collapsed around them and the floor collapsed but he did know that he had to find the others and get out of there as fast as possible. Megatron and Starscream could have survived and be milling about and, while he could handle the SIC, the big bad 'Con himself was someone he wasn't thrilled to fend off.

"Mayhem? Arcee? Bulkhead?" Silverbot yelled out.

The mech feared the worst might have happened to the others, but his sister kept especially bothering his processor. He could already picture their Creator throwing a fit and backtracking on her promise to let them explore more in their outings but if he didn't feel any pull at his spark it meant his Creator did neither, so Mayhem was still alive and well. They may have had their fights and bickered like it was their hobby but they were siblings and they cared for each other, meaning they could patch up whatever rifts their discussions created by just waiting the right amount of time or realizing neither could remember what they'd been fighting over in the first place.

Looking in all directions he kept calling out the names of his teammates, unsure if he would be answered, until he spotted a drill. Likely a Decepticon piece of equipment but beggars can't be choosers, especially in his situation, so he decided he would have to use it in order to get out of that situation and rescue the others.

The triple-changer approached the piece of machinery and began pressing some buttons, unsure of how to operate that piece of equipment and, if he found out how, hoping there would be some fuel left. Luck appeared to be on his side that time because the drill came to life almost immediately and began trudging forward and, even if Silverbot himself was too big to take a seat on the equipment he followed close behind.

It took him a just a short few minutes before he saw some light up ahead and steered the drill in the direction where the glow was coming from. The mech was already preparing to meet any of the Autobots or, even better his sister when his expectations went down the drain faster than a turbo-fox could run, because when the rocks gave way to another, smaller tunnel he was face to face with Megatron himself.

"I suppose, helping those less fortunate would be out of the question." The tyrant dryly spoke, his whole body still pinned under the rubble with only his faceplate free to stare in one direction. "If that is the case, you might just as well finish me. I guarantee you will never have a better opportunity than right now. Think of the glory, seize the day and snuff my spark!" He taunted, wanting to get a reaction out of the younger Cybertronian

Silverbot felt at a metaphorical crossroads. He thought back to his younger days, the ones he'd spent on Cybertron and how he saw his Carrier get her hopes up only for, in the end, to tear them up and end up worse for the wear. He remembered every tear shed because of that maniacal tyrant that thought violence could solve everything and that wanted to be worshiped as a Prime.

The triple-changer could end it all then and there if he wished, it would only take one simple action to put an end to the madness and to the mech who caused a war that had already cost so many sparks… He could do it, but would he? That blind rage he felt on the back of his processor could easily take over and he was strong enough to snuff out a spark with a swift move of his claws.

"No. You have no idea how much I would enjoy doing that but I have better things to do right now than take vengeance on behalf of my Carrier." He was better than taking down a crippled enemy and would prove himself above senseless violence to everyone.

"Your Carrier? She and I share a history together that requires no revenge. You were but a mere sparkling when we met for the first time, if I can recall it."

"That is where you are mistaken. She should have never even met you, you lying sack of bolts!" Silverbot then realized something, his optics widening in recollection of his mission. "No matter, I have to find my sister. Have fun rusting in here for the rest of your pitiful existence. If not, I will definitely make sure your death comes with the exact painful price."

With a few stiff gestures the triple-changer turned on the drill and continued on the opposite direction of the warlord. He refused to look back as he walked away because it could jeopardize everything he promised himself he would not do and finally choke the life out of that miserable retro-rat.

"I will be sure to share the details of our little conversations the day I rip out his spark!" Megatron shouted, the feeling of humiliation for not being considered having worth for a revenge.

The tyrant watched as the mech walked away in search of the others and pondered their conversation. Solarflare didn't have a daughter… did she? He had no idea but now all he had to do was keep freeing himself and ignore that persistent tug at his spark.

* * *

On another side of the caved-in mine there was another struggle going on. Or rather two.

Bulkhead kept trying to get back on his pedes, never having truly given up, but found himself unable to do so throughout the entire ordeal. The wrecker felt the need to help Mayhem with holding up the boulder over their helms, knowing the femme could not hold it up indefinitely, and the helplessness that permeated his spark did not become of him.

"Bulk, please stop." Pleaded Mayhem with a strained smile. "Who knows what might have happened in there to throw off your balance system. Please, just stay still until someone comes to help us." She might not have wanted to follow on her Carrier's example and become a medbot but she had picked up a few things after getting hurt after a certain amount of times.

"But, how long will you be able to hold up that rock?" Retorted the wrecker, nervous about their predicament.

"Long enough."

"I can see it in our optics, you're getting tired."

"There's just this persistent tugging at my sparkchamber, it's really getting annoying. Please don't worry about me. I'll be alright." The femme gave a strained smile to her friend. "I'm sorry, if it weren't for me we wouldn't be in this situation."

The two Cybertronians remained in silence for a few moments, letting the situation finally sink in. One of them was unable to stand up by himself while the other could not move unless she wanted to risk both getting crushed by a giant boulder, none able to go around their situations and find a way out of that mine.

"I'm sorry." Mayhem broke the silence with a downcast apology. "If it wasn't for me we wouldn't even be in this mess."

"Mayhem, that's not true." Bulkhead attempted to soften the blow his friend was feeling.

"Yeah, it is. I was the one who wanted to explore the mine and drove you all to come and look for me."

"But you didn't mean for any of this to happen."

"It doesn't matter!" She held back a sob. "I always do reckless things that get others in trouble. Mom says I take after my Sire in that department and I wonder if there's more stuff I take after."

Bulkhead attempted to say something else but he couldn't. He didn't know much about Victory or Makers to help Mayhem feel better about herself. The wrecker was used to being the clumsy one, the one that crushed equipment and anything else in his path with just a wrong step and so knew what must have been running through the Maker's mind. Yes, she was a handful but sometimes things happened and it wasn't anyone's fault, no matter their propensity for trouble.

All hope seemed lost at that point, that was until the drill noises started coming though the collapsed stone walls.

"Do you hear that?" The green mech's spark skipped a beat.

"Sounds like-"

"Drilling! Gotta be Arcee and Silver."

"We're in-" The seeker attempted to shout but the boulder dropped lower as her concentration faltered. "Here!"

"Mayhem, don't worry. Just keep holding up that thing and I'll yell. Silverbot! Arcee! We're in here! Anyone?! It's Bulkhead and Mayhem!"

They kept going at it for a few more moments, not willing to give up now that help was so close. They would be able to get out of there and return home with a story and just a few scratches.

"Are they any close?" Mayhem asked, unsure of where the sound was coming from.

"Can't tell. I'm sorry." Bulkhead shook his helm.

As they were about to start screaming again sounds began coming from one of the walls and the stones began to shake and move. Someone was definitely tearing through to get to them.

"They found us!"

The wall came crumbling down, but, once the dust began settling, it wasn't neither of the two that Mayhem and Bulkhead expected that came through to their 'rescue'. A familiar laughter was the first thing they heard and their sparks sunk in their chestplates at the sound of it.

"Put any doubt of my allegiance to rest." Starscream began but soon realized it wasn't his leader that he had stumbled upon.

"Oh, for the love of Solus, what's he doing here?!" Mayhem shouted.

"Mayhem, be careful!" Bulkhead warned. He couldn't move and neither could she, so Screamer had the upper hand on them.

Starscream finished tearing down the wall and entered the chamber. Oh, Primus had smiled down upon him and given him a blessing. Two incapacitated enemies, ready to be disposed of and their helms surrendered to elevate his status in Megatron's optics.

"Well, well, if it isn't one of those pesky Makers and the Autobot known as Bulkhead." Gloated the SIC of the Decepticon army. "Looks like someone took quite a beating if they're down for the count and my, someone had their servos full."

Mayhem attempted to move but couldn't do much with the weight of the boulder pressing down upon her. "Leave us alone, Screamer."

"I could do that, or…" Starscream reached down with his claws to Bulkhead's hem. "I could terminate two enemies for the price of one."

At that moment Mayhem went into panic. She couldn't let Bulkhead join the Allspark this soon so she gathered her strength and kicked the seeker away as hard as she could. Smirking as Starscream made a sizeable impression in the rocks, causing a few of them to fall down in the process, the femme prepared for the retaliation. Her servos were busy enough and her strengths fading as the minutes ticked by so it was imperative to get this over with as fast as possible and avoid getting injured in the process of fending for both herself and Bulkhead.

Starscream wiped the dust off his optics and began standing up. "That's it, Autobot, I will-"

"What?" Mayhem interrupted the mech with a snarl. "Make me bring down the ceiling on top of all of us?!"

"You like playing with the big bots, don't you, little femme?"

"Come closer and I'll show you just how little I am."

Just as the Decepticon was preparing to try and attempt striking the wrecker once more the sound of drilling interrupted him. Lifting an optic ridge he wondered what was happening as small pebbles began falling but he did not have much time to wonder on what was going on as a drill cut through the wall and knocked him out of the way, stopping just as it hit him.

It was then that Silverbot came rushing through the hole, ready to defend his sister at any cost. Seeing the position she was in and Bulkhead's state was enough to stop the words from flowing from his voicebox but he didn't have much time to think of any other phrases.

"Silver!" Mayhem shouted enthusiastically. "Bulkhead's down! Quick, get him out of here!"

"But-" The triple-changer attempted to argue but was swiftly interrupted.

"No buts! Listen to your sister and just save someone's spark! Who knows if he's suffered an injury that aggravates with time?!"

"But I could-"

"You could nothing! We both know someone has to stay behind and hold this thing, so take him and go!"

Hesitating at the thought of leaving his sister behind, Silverbot resisted the urge to try and argue once more before taking hold of the green mech and dragging the wrecker out of there. He should be able to do something to help Mayhem, he was her older brother and, as such, had the job of making sure she was well and happy.

The triple changer had always been there for his sister, from when they were little and trying to reach the top shelf to get to energon sweets, to when they ventured outside their hab-suite for the first times and even when they had to abandon their planet he was there for her. He would always protect her no matter what.

Just as Silverbot was dragging Bulkhead away from the danger of being crushed by the large boulder he saw movement out of the corner of his optics and stifled. It couldn't be Megatron, could it?!

Starscream began picking himself up and looked at the retreating Maker pulling the injured Autobot. He had to act fast and do something that would get him in the good graces of Megatron, while at the same time avoiding being crushed by the collapsing ceiling.

"And then there were two." Said the SIC with a promise of vengeance in his voice. He could injure the Maker and then dash for freedom while leaving her to be crushed along with anyone else that was in her vicinity.

"If you want me to beg for mercy, guess again." Mayhem was now close to kneeling, her arms finally giving to the effort she had put in keeping the boulder from crushing her and Bulkhead. Even then she would not lower herself to begging for her life. She was a fighter until the bitter end.

"While I would love to hear you beg I believe Lord Megatron would be even more pleased if I delivered a war prisoner to him right after I rescue him." Yes, that would be much better and there would be actual proof of his loyalty to the Decepticon cause. All he had to do was figure out how to get them out of there before that darned triple-changer came back…

Mayhem, feeling her fate closing in on her, growled at her enemy and Starscream took a few steps back in fear. Fight until the bitter end… An end that did not include being surrendered to Megatron as a spoil of war. She would rather that place be her tomb along with that sniveling coward's than letting her Carrier down and letting herself get captured.

Starscream felt his spark race. Somehow that growl managed to him the same note that resembled the one that always managed to get him on his knees and begging for forgiveness. With a last step back he felt a something touch between his wings and turned around in surprise.

"Arcee!" Mayhem exclaimed with content. Luck was on her side after all and she couldn't care how cliché it was to be rescued at the last second!

"Arms up, Starscream." The femme ordered with her blaster pointed straight at the Decepticon's helm.

Starscream put his arms and wondered why his plans always went wrong. He attempted to kill Megatron and that went sideways, he attempted to rescue Megatron and that went equally as bad… Had all his luck just abandoned him?!

* * *

Outside, the dusk was settling in, the orange colors soft in comparison to what the Cybertronians had just experienced.

The SIC had been left to bear the weight of the boulder as the team made their way through the tunnel he´d dug toward their freedom and they didn´t regret it on bit. Starscream had it coming and the team had even chuckled as he bent over in strain from holding up the boulder that had almost ended Bulkhead and Mayhem´s lives.

"We could finish him, here and now." Arcee said as they overlooked the caved-in mine.

"Shame we didn't bring any grenades." Bulkhead complained, leaning onto Silverbot for support in order to be able to stand up.

"Then allow me." The triple-changer aimed one of his blasters at the semi-blocked entrance from where they had emerged from.

"No!" Mayhem shouted and took out her hammer. "Me."

Both siblings wanted to have a go at finally ending the life of a mech that had caused the Makers, their Carrier, so much pain. While it had been because of Megatron that the talk of equality had reached the common public he had used that message to spread his influence and try to elevate his status through force. Everyone knew of the gladiator that had fought his way into the senate floor and demanded to be made Prime, only to lose the battle and soon turn bitter.

Silverbot wanted to avenge the broken spark of his Carrier more than anything, to finally leave her at peace with the thought that monstrous mech would no longer be aiming to get her in his grasp. He wanted to repay the kindness he´d had while growing up, the attentiveness despite his Sire´s early demise and all the love he´d received throughout his life despite being a constant reminder of Victory.

Mayhem, on the other hand, wanted to prove herself capable of fending off anything that came her way, to finally show her independence by putting an end to the tyrant´s life. Finally she would be able to be free from her Carrier´s restraints on her movements and fight to her spark´s content without being fearful that she would meet face-to-face with the big bad Con himself.

"You two, stop it!" The blue femme put an end to the upcoming discussion. "Do you think Optimus would take this opportunity?"

"Well…" Silverbot´s mind began racing at the thought and soon after he wasn't so sure on blasting those two into a well-deserved grave.

"No." Mayhem crossed her arms in resignation but did not put away her weapon either. "But he wouldn't recue him either, would he?"

"Let's just go home." Said Bulkhead, picking up on the tension they were all feeling.

Slowly but surely the Cybertronians began walking away, all feeling some sort of conflicting emotions towards the situation. Megatron should be punished along with Starscream. Both Decepticons had caused so much despair and offlined so many during the war, they did not deserve to be spared their comeuppance, only to be buried in an unmarked grave and forgotten, with none to mourn for them.

Silverbot and Arcee looked behind at the mine while walking one last time and sighed. Their sparks ached for revenge but, if they did so, they would fail in Optimus´ optics.


	33. What the spark wants most

**That's right, I am back! It** **'** **s been almost two months since my last update but my medication had an impact on my writing creativity. If you all want faster updates please consider REVIEWING, I have so little reviews that I start to think no one really likes my story and that it** **'s a waste of time updating it.**

* * *

Up high in the Earth's atmosphere, hovering among the clouds, hidden from the prying eyes of humans and optics of Autobots and Makers, a certain Decepticon ship lazily made its path along an invisible line. There was not a set destiny programmed into it, just the job of avoiding detection by humans or Autobots.

Things had been rather quiet since a week prior, a rare occurrence for the inhabiting crew. Ever since their master had returned there had been an almost constant tension between him and the SIC, usually ending with the latter in the medbay for more than a few dents and scratches, but now silence reigned above all and it left an uneasy feeling hovering amongst the crew.

Starscream had expressed his feelings to Soundwave of finally admitting defeat at the servos of Megatron once and for all, deciding to completely submit at last to the bigger Cybertronian and put aside his plans to overthrow the chain of command to make himself the Supreme Leader of the Decepticons. There would be no more lying or betrayals, only blind obedience as he had sworn to do when he'd first enlisted to take control of their home planet.

Walking along the mostly empty hallways of the Nemesis the SIC arrived at the control bridge, the door opening for him to step inside, but the scenario he encountered was one most unexpected.

Megatron and Lockdown. Staring at something in the main monitor at the end of the bridge.

"Is this true?" The voice of the Decepticon Leader already had more than a hint of anger in it, letting anyone know he was in a mood not to be trifled with.

Lockdown, however, seemed more than at ease with the taller Cybertronian. "Starscream never mentioned it, my liege."

"If he's up to his old tricks, I shall grind him into powder!"

"Please, allow me the honor of first extracting some mods if that is to be the case, Lord Megatron."

The seeker at the door, already afraid for his life and knowing he was on very thin ice despite his high position, mimicked a cough to let the two mechs be aware of his presence. Whatever was that they were discussing it wasn't good for his rapidly deteriorating health.

"Starscream." Growled Megatron as he looked behind to glare down at his subordinate.

"Lord Megatron, please excuse Lockdown's impertinence. Now, what is that I allegedly failed to mention?" Oh Primus, what was it?! He was panicking inside, his spark pulsing faster by the second. There was so much Starscream had kept to himself during the time Megatron had been away that it would take more than an Earth year to compile a list of all his deceitful deeds.

"The Harbinger."

Oh. Oh no.

"Erm, what about it?"

Lockdown pulled up an image of said ship up on the main window and turned to Starscream with a smirk that let everyone know how much he was enjoying seeing the SIC squirm. "The Decepticon ship that crash-landed eons ago on Earth, that Harbinger if it brings you any memory of it."

Attempting to hide his more recent memories of the vessel, the seeker put on a calmer façade. "Oh, please, common knowledge. I first scouted the site when we first arrived on Earth."

"Then I presume you recovered the experimental weapon prototype the Harbinger was carrying?"

"Where is the crash site?" Megatron asked Lockdown.

"It was never logged into the Nemesis' database. We can assume by whom." Oh yes, he was very much enjoying seeing the SIC avoid contorting himself into a pretzel of shame.

"You failed to record the coordinates of a Decepticon transport?!"

Shrinking in on himself, Starscream did his best to avoid optic contact with the Decepticon Lord. "An oversight, master, but I noted its exact location." He said, pointing to his helm with a more confident expression.

"Then you can lead Lockdown there, so that he may retrieve the prototype for me."

"A fresh arrival and I already have a native guide, how thoughtful." Mused the green and black grounder with an even wider smirk, if that was even possible. Oh, he would enjoy putting the pressure on that gloating piece of scrap, indeed he would.

"But, master, he is a well-known bounty-hunter. What can assure us he will not run off with the weapon if we indeed find it?"

"Perhaps my lack of an interstellar vessel? Or the fact that I have been promised to be greatly rewarded after we finish off the Autobots once and for all?"

"But-"

"Starscream, do not test my patience!" Megatron warned with a yell. He did not feel like having his increasingly diminishing humor put on the line.

"Yes, master…"

He would have to be extremely careful, least Lockdown steal his credit if they indeed found the missing Decepticon experimental weapon. Starscream would need to keep his optics wide open and his CPU sharp if he were to guide the bounty-hunter onto the location of the crash site. Or at least the first one.

* * *

Arcee looked over to the setting sun with a nostalgic gaze. She and Cliffjumper used to go up there and just enjoy the Earth scenery once in a while, a way to ease off the tension from constantly fighting the Decepticons and being kept on high alert all day long.

"Hey partner, heck of a view you got up here." She said, glancing at the clouds that lazily floated high up above in the sky.

Before she would have only associated the sky with Decepticons and their flying ability but, ever since the Makers had arrived, she had learned to look at it in a more innocent way. They needed the air to feel free and put their engines to the max, just like she needed the ground beneath her tires. It was indeed a beautiful image the organic nature painted but it was sad that her partner no longer could be there right beside her to complete the setting.

"Lately things have taken a turn I didn't expect. The Makers, they… they have brought a liveliness back to the base I thought would have been lost the day you joined the Allspark. Doomsday and Mayhem, those two are the epitome of random. One moment they can be quiet and the other they can be having the craziest idea you have ever heard."

It was true. The two femmes almost seemed to be related, despite their different builds and coloring scheme. They both enjoyed high-risk activities, their old lives back in the Maker district, explosives, dangerous weaponry and Earth music that bordered on the audio-receptor grating with all its high cords. The high-spirits seemed to have found themselves a fountain in them, always pouring out and infecting anyone around them with a good mood, well, except if that one was Ratchet but he'd always tended to enjoy his peace and quiet above all.

"Solarflare, she is, in one word, smart. Smarter than you'd think any Maker could be. From what I could pick up on she even somehow studied at the same place Ratchet did. It's almost like looking at a femme version of a mix between him and Optimus, a leader that can keep their helm cool in a crisis and mend you up after she tore you a new one on what you did was stupid and risky."

Musing on the white and green femme, Arcee wondered how she could have endured having lost so much and yet kept herself from falling apart. Her bondmate had been offlined unjustly, her livelihood taken away, her planet ravaged by war with so many innocents caught in the fray and yet she found the strength to raise two sparklings on her own. It was obvious she worried a little too much for her own good but losing even more didn't seem to be an option, not if Solarflare could help it.

"You'd have enjoyed Radical, by the way. He's a sweet sparkling, well, a somewhat-sparkling. The poor mech can't age despite being almost the same age as Mayhem and yet he didn't let that keep him from doing what he likes. He's great with technology, hacking and everything that involves a computer. You could have had a lot more fun if he was around because he'd be able to have erased the evidence off of the internet. Would have saved you a lot of lectures from Fowler, that's for sure."

Radical definitely embodied the innocence of a sparkling and the sense of adventure that came with older bots. Having a Creator like Doomsday had kept him a sort of perpetual state of discovery, always looking to make things to show others that despite having a flaw he could help in ways the others could not. At first glance he seemed to be defenseless but beneath that sweet exterior laid the foundations for a great warrior, even if the fights he could take were not of the physical kind.

"Then there's Airachnid. Now there's a mystery wrapped in a puzzle wrapped in an enigma. There's so much we don't know about her and yet we found ourselves relying on her… I found myself relying on her. I had my doubts but she came back for me, for real. Even if she blackmailed me with a piece of information that could drive a wedge between me and Silverbot."

"Speaking of… lastly there's Silverbot. He's, erm… he's the actual opposite of what you'd expect a triple-changer to be, just goes to show that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, as humans tend to say. He can fight but he can also be the gentlest mech you'd ever laid your optics on, apparently just like his Sire, Victory."

There was something about Silverbot that stroked a chord deep within her. Something long forgotten. That mech could crush her with just a servo and yet he'd smile at her with an innocence that seemed to indicate he didn't know just how strong he could be and that made her wonder just how someone who'd grown up in a district that was renowned for being the worst in all of Cybertron could be so well-spoken and behaved. Well, aside from the usual risk-taking that came with being young and somewhat reckless.

"If there is even a small chance your spark is out there, listening, well, we really could use you Cliff. Seems like every day another Decepticon arrives on the scene. We're outnumbered and outgunned." Arcee's face softened and a sad smile bloomed on her faceplate. "Yeah, I know what you'd say: sounds like a fair fight. And if that's the world we live in… so be it. I just want you to know I haven't given up, I'm gonna find that took you from us."

Gathering herself the two-wheeler put her hand on top of the monument of piled up rocks and said her goodbye for the day. It wasn't the time to let herself go down, not when Lockdown was out and about.

* * *

Landing on a clearing in the middle of a dense forest, Starscream turned to bipedal mode and waited for his assigned partner to appear from within the organic green hell. How he hated to be stuck with such an uncouth bottom-feeder that only had joined the Decepticons because his other option would have been termination.

Lockdown may have been renowned for his battle prowess but he was also known for double-crossing and steep pricing when it came to business. Starscream knew a traitor when he saw one and that bot was just waiting for the right moment to elevate his position. Speaking of, he saw that green and black would-be double-crosser approaching.

"Your chosen vehicle mode lacks thrust." Stated the SIC.

Seemingly not bothered by the not-so-veiled insult, the mech squared his shoulders. "Are you going to preen, oh almighty Screamer, or are you going to guide?" He said in a mocking tone.

"I will reveal the location of the Harbinger when you reveal what you're looking for."

"I'm not gonna tell you anything until I have it, so tough luck."

"Oh, you would do well to respect me, Lockdown. Before I joined Megatron I was Air Commander of a squadron of energon seekers."

"Eons ago on Cybertron. I presently am a bounty-hunter on numerous planets and galaxies."

Stumped by the insult of being called both outdated and incapable, Starscream began to think up something to try and top Lockdown. What had he done recently besides attempting to offline Megatron? He certainly couldn't use that but there was something else.

"Just recently, I personally vanquished one of Optimus Prime's fiercest warriors: Cliffjumper." Stated the seeker with pride in his voice. Yes, this would do just fine to shut up the annoyance he was forced to work alongside of.

"Really? I guess you can teach an old toaster new tricks."

"Yes, I did. Without mercy."

"The mercy Megatron should have showed you when he planned to terminate you at the mine. I wonder if he had made me Second in Command."

"What?! He told you about that?"

It hadn't been long and yet Megatron already trusted Lockdown enough to let him in on that very private moment of weakness and distress. Maybe it could have been used as a cautionary tale but still it seemed awfully personal for the Decepticon Lord to have even said anything about the mine incident. No one else knew what had happened that day and yet here was the bounty hunter taunting him with it.

Lockdown merely shrugged with a content air about him. "Turns out we have some things in common."

Starscream gritted his dentas but had to let his anger go. It was neither the time nor the place to blow up and make a fool out of himself. "The wreckage lies just beneath where we stand."

"Well then, let's find a point of entry before we rust."

The two mechs began walking the perimeter between the clearing and the trees until they found a suspiciously well-stacked pile of rocks. It was obvious someone (cough Starscream cough) had disguised the way down by piling up the rocks on top of each other in an attempt to discourage any humans from finding the Harbinger by accident.

It hadn't taken long for the Decepticons to make their way down a tunnel and into the actual ship itself. Lockdown had taken the lead while Starscream lagged behind, not wanting to get stabbed on the back. Literally.

The hallways were rusted and falling apart from eons of abandonment, datapads knocked over here and there along with smashed miscellaneous objects littered the floors but, apart from that, the vessel seemed to have held up fine. The ceiling wasn't collapsing on itself so that was a good sign.

"Suit yourself, I conducted a thorough investigation of this husk years ago." The SIC said in a condescending tone before rounding a corner to see Lockdown accessing a nearby computer system. "What are you doing?!"

"Accessing the cargo manifest, as you obviously should have done during your 'thorough investigation'." Said the grounder in a mocking voice, never taking his optics off the screens.

"Idiot. The ship's systems haven't been activated for eons, the Autobots could detect its energy signature."

"No matter, we can deal with them. Here it is, section twenty-three."

* * *

"And that was the last time I ever did my paintjob with glow-in-the-dark paint." Doomsday ecstatically grinned as she finished her story.

The week had been a rather slow one after the Decepticon mine incident, so there had been nothing to do besides patrolling the Nevada desert or staying inside and making their own fun. The Autobots had no problems with it, already having been accustomed to irregular patterns of activity, but the Makers had not followed along that train of thought.

By that point almost everyone had played against Radical in a wide array of games (and lost most of the time), listened to Mayhem's new guitar solo and covers of Slash Monkey, tried their luck at Praxus Hold 'em with Airachnid or at Lobbing with Mayhem and Bulkhead and even, at one of their lowest points, watched Ratchet and Solarflare debate. But nothing on that list could compare to listening to Doomsday tell stories about the 'good old days'.

The Maker district was varied in offer, with the right amount of shanix a bot could get lost in their senses for what seemed an infinite amount of time, and almost everything had happened down there.

The workers always shared the information, one could never not know who had done what, and at the epicenter of it was Stagefright, the queen of gossip and one of the top earners. Due to her nature she could not resist sharing the latest news about the clients and what services they had required, from the basic piece of armor made to the most of indiscrete of events that happened behind closed doors, and one of her very good friends had been none other than Doomsday.

"That was…" Bulkhead was at a loss for words. He wasn't even sure that the he'd just heard the Forger tell… well, he didn't even want to think about it.

Bumblebee slowly uttered a few beeps, still unsure if what he'd heard was indeed true. The poor scout was having a hard time processing the fact Radical had lived most of his life among bots that did 'things' someone respectable shouldn't even get caught mentioning.

"Yeah, that."

"Please, you two are acting worse than a couple of sparklings." Mayhem brushed aside the concerns of her teammates with disregard for the topic that had just been on the table.

"I don't think so, that story should have stopped before it even begun." Solarflare quipped from her spot on the sideline alongside Ratchet.

The Maker and Autobot doctors had been going over some medical datapads for a while but Doomsday talked loudly enough for anyone to hear. In the end, Ratchet had decided to call it a day and headed for the main console while leaving Solarflare to study the datapads alone, but it had been a challenge when, every once in a while, loud laughter could be heard.

"Oh, come on, the first time I ever told that story was when Radical was still young." The Forger giggled as she remembered the older times with the whole crew of workers.

"My point exactly."

"So? I never kept it a secret what I did."

"Some things aren't meant to be said."

Out of the blue a beeping sound began coming from the console Ratchet had settled himself at and the Cybertronians were quick to leave all other points of conversation behind to focus on what was happening. When any sort of alarm rang out it was never a good sign and it wouldn't be then that it would begin to be good.

"Optimus, our scanners have detected a Decepticon energy profile. But it's ancient." The medbot stated while looking at the map.

It was odd that such an old signal would suddenly come to life but stranger things had happened. They'd never though they would find Maker on Earth and yet here they were, with six extra Cybertronians living at the base.

Optimus approached his teammate and carefully pondered what the signal could pertain to. "The past has a way of catching up with the present, Ratchet."

Mayhem didn't waste any time in attempting to insert herself into the conversation. "Can I-"

"No!" Solarflare promptly interrupted her daughter.

"Mom!"

"Three words: Decepticon. Mine. Incident." Said the green and white seeker, lifting a digit for each word uttered.

"Sucks to be you." Silverbot chortled and put a hand on his sister's shoulder.

"Oh, you're not going either."

"What?!" Why?! Why did he always have to suffer for Mayhem´s misdeeds?! "But you promised to go easy on punishments!"

"I did, but I need someone to keep an optic on your sister and I trust you the most."

"That still sounds like a punishment. Doomsday could do it too."

"She's staying but I'll be going. Airachnid is nowhere to be found… as usual, so I need someone here strong enough to take her down if she attempts something."

"Wait, does that mean you don't trust me to watch her?" Said Forger piped in with a confused look.

It hadn´t been often but she had sometimes taken care of Mayhem while Solarflare was ´unavailable´ for the time being. Doomsday had actually enjoyed being around a smaller version of Solarflare, even if the color scheme was totally different. It reminded her of the time she´d taken care of her friend when she was still a sparkling at the request of Marmoreal. The Forger had a way with sparklings of a certain age, their propensity for mischief and curious nature making them a perfect pair for her.

Solarflare gave her friend a deadpan look. "No."

Shrugging, Doomsday nodded and resigned herself to being designated too irresponsible for such a seemingly simple task. "I have to say, ouch. But still, fair enough, my reputation really precedes me."

* * *

Starscream and Lockdown kept on walking down the path laid out by the computer. The bounty-hunter still took the lead with his bigger strides, not minding to be the one in charge. In fact, he enjoyed it very much.

After a short walk the two mechs rounded a corner, only to be greeted with an abrupt end.

"Section 23 should have been right about here." Lockdown crossed his arms and shook his helm. "Well, frag me, the ship must have broken in half."

Starscream smirked. He´d already known about that but had chosen to keep the information on a ´need to know basis´. "If you performed actual research you would have learned that an Autobot battalion shot the Harbinger out of the sky."

Turning around to face the SIC, the bounty hunter snarled in an attempt to intimidate the smaller mech. "Where is the other half?"

"What was it that you said before? 'Tough luck', was it?" The seeker didn´t have time to gloat much after that, however, because he suddenly found himself on the ground, his limbs stuck to his frame by a white sticky thread-like substance. "What are you-?!"

"If you're trying to make me look like a fool before Megatron, Screamer, I'm afraid that won't fly with me so easily."

Lockdown looked at the seeker lying on the ground. He would not be bested by someone with no wits about himself and such a coward that he could only strike when his opponent´s back was turned. He´d been trained by the best, had bested the best and made a name for himself in and out of Cybertron, so there was no way that it would be then that his reputation would be put into question.

"How dare you accuse me?! You're nothing but a scavenger, an opportunist!"

"That's where you're wrong. I'm a business mech, a strong warrior that will serve the highest bidder. Compared to you, I am the better bot overall since I do not turn on the servo that feeds me."

"Perhaps, but I've changed, seen the error of my ways. I live to serve Megatron, now."

The green and black mech pointed a blaster at the Decepticon SIC. "You won't live for much longer if you do not tell me where the rest of the ship is."

Fearing for his life, Starscream complied. "A few clicks north from here through a stone arch. Now release me!"

"In due time, wannabe Lord Screamer. But maybe I'll just get lost without my guide. We'll just have to wait and see, won't we?"

Turning his back, Lockdown began walking away while laughing. He had no intention of ever returning, maybe if Megatron asked where Starscream was rusting at, but, then again, he could also ´finish the job´ and rise through the ranks. It had been a while since any decent bounties had come by anyway, so why not for once lay back and enjoy the easy life for a change?

"This is not funny, Lockdown! Come back here and cut me loose. Lockdown! That is an order! I am your commanding officer! LOCKDOWN!"

* * *

"Look what we have here." Said Bulkhead in a light tone.

Starscream looked up and quickly realized what trouble he was in. "You have got to be kidding me."

Team Prime (minus Ratchet) along with Solarflare had arrived at the site and at first found nothing. It had been weird because the signal was clearly coming from that area, but there was nothing in sight besides the tall tree of the Forest beyond the clearing. Looking up they wondered if the signal was hovering right above their helms without them knowing but it seemed rather unlikely.

It had actually been Solarflare´s idea to search not up but down. She had then found a tunnel wide enough for everyone to pass through and, to their surprise, the team suddenly found themselves inside a huge ship that seemed to be of a really old model. Like beginning of the war old.

The ship´s hallways seemed like a maze, so it had taken a little while for them to decide which direction to head to, but, in the end, the search had paid off in the form of a tightly bound Starscream lying helpless on the floor.

"I thought Mayhem said you left him in the cave." Solarflare turned to Arcee in confusion.

The two-wheeler shrugged and took in the sight of one of their most powerful enemies just… there. "Apparently Megatron still has his uses for him."

Bumblebee pointed at the webs enveloping the seeker and noted how they were very similar to Airachnid´s. The spider-femme couldn't be found since that morning, so maybe she had been doing some exploring. Maybe she had been there but why he couldn´t phantom.

"Yes, that is indeed strange. But Airachnid was most definitely not responsible for this." Optimus noted with a thinking look in his optics. Was there even a possibility that someone like their resident wall-crawler inhabited Earth?

"Lockdown…" Arcee whispered, her optics widening as she turned around to run outside.

"Arcee!" The Autobot Leader was surprised to see the femme take off so fast and the only thing he could do was run after her, hoping she would not try to engage the enemy by herself.

Bulkhead, Bumblebee Solarflare were left behind, wondering what had just happened, when the white and green seeker had a thought. Where had she heard that name before? It was awfully familiar. The more she thought about it the more the memory seemed to come to the surface and suddenly there was light. She knew who he was!

"Wait… Lockdown? As in the bounty hunter?" Solarflare asked the two Autobots.

"Yeah. I thought you knew he was here on Earth." Bulkhead confirmed the suspicions the seeker had.

Bumblebee nodded along.

"I most definitely was not! When did he even get here?!" Oh, Airachnid had some questions to answer but those could wait until she was back at the base. "No matter, we can deal with it later, now we have a seeker on our servos that isn't here for just nothing."

"Well, you heard the ladybot. Come on, move it!" The wrecker picked up Starscream and shoved him towards the exit.

* * *

Starscream could do nothing more than comply with the rough handling from his captors. Not only had he been double-crossed by Lockdown he was now held captive by the Autobots and unable to fly away. It seemed that even when changing his ways his luck remained just the same.

Outside, Optimus caught up to Arcee, noting how she kept looking everywhere for any signs of her enemy. Her movements were quick and she seemed desperate to find even a sliver of evidence that Lockdown was still somewhere nearby, but the bounty-hunter seemed to be long gone.

"Arcee, you know better than to engage the enemy alone." Said the Prime as he approached her from behind.

"Not him. Not after what he did to Tailgate." Those memories would always haunt her. Her partner, her friend, offlined as he laid there, helpless and suffering for so long… "And it's not like I found him, he's gone."

"Revenge will not bring back those we have lost, is that understood?"

Arcee turned away and closed her optics. She was very well aware her plans would not bring anyone back, but at least they would ease her conscience that the monster that had taken away her partner would not live to take away anyone else´s lives. All she wanted was to have her spark at easy once and for all and that would not happen as long as Lockdown´s spark kept on pulsing.

"Move it!" Came Bulkhead´s voice not far from the two Autobots.

The wrecker was pushing Starscream ahead to meet up with Optimus and Arcee, not taking any care in the slightest, preferring to use brute force to make the seeker compliant with his demands. That Decepticon had haunted them for so long it was high time for reparations, starting with not caring a damn if he was comfortable or not as a prisoner.

"No need to use force." One last push and Starscream found himself kneeling on the harsh ground. "I'll tell you anything you want to know."

"Is that right? And what do you want in return?"

"I want to be… on your side."

"On our side?! HA! And I've been lobbing with The Fallen."

"You wouldn't betray the Decepticons." Arcee dryly noted.

"Wouldn't I? What have they done for me lately besides humiliate me, spy on me, demote me? Megatron tried to extinguish my spark in cold blood then all but replaced me with that filthy treacherous Lockdown. He abandoned me! Left me for scrap! So why not rat them out?"

"Don't believe a word he tells you." Solarflare took a spot besides Optimus and glared at the captured mech. "Decepticons are nothing but liars and double-crossers."

Starscream growled and attempted to flex his wings in a threatening gesture. "And how would you know that, Maker? Last I remember your kind fled before the war even started."

"A war no Maker had any part in to begin with."

The Prime made a motion for the team to gather, leaving Bumblebee with his blaster pointed at their prisoner. They would need to come to a consensus on what to do with Starscream, for his knowledge of the inner working of the Decepticons ran deep. He was the SIC to Megatron and, as such, had access to all sorts of classified material.

"He's telling the truth about Megatron trying to scrap him. I saw it with my own optics." Arcee began, nodding at the kneeling seeker.

"You're not saying you actually trust Starscream?" The green wrecker made a face at the thought.

"Trust him? Never. But this may be the one time our objectives align."

"That still doesn't show us why we should trust the word of a Decepticon. Their promises are shallower than a puddle." Solarflare crossed her arms and shook her helm. She had no qualms about making her views known about their enemies. "Why are we even discussing this? He's the Second in Command for Megatron, our number one enemy!"

Optimus thought about what to do. They had a loose Lockdown out and about and their only way of catching up to him would be with the help of Starscream, but he had quite a history of double-crossing and lying to get his way, along with the fact that he was in essence their enemy. His sudden change of heart could be just a ruse to gain him enough time to think up a plan or to simply escape back to the Nemesis.

Finally, the Autobot leader made up his mind. "You both right to be weary, but I agree with Arcee."

"Optimus, you have got to be kidding me! He's a Decepticon!"

"A Decepticon he maybe, Solarflare, but one who knows where our target is headed. I will comm Ratchet for a trailer so we can transport Starscream with us."

"Well then, you can send me back while you're at it and Doomsday can take my place. I'd send Airachnid too but I have reason to believe she wouldn't be of much help here."

"Solarflare, are you really so against relying on a Decepticon? Why?"

"Yes, I am, and I have my reasons to believe they're nothing but treacherous liars."

Yes… Decepticons were only good at one thing and that was shattering one´s dreams.


	34. A dish best served cold

**AN: Well, here we are. Another chapter, another episode finished. This one was a bit difficult for me because... fight scenes. I hate writing them and there** **'** **s nothing anyone can do about it. So, yeah, if the fights seem cut short you can really blame me on it.**

* * *

Team Prime, now without Solarflare and with an added Doomsday, accelerated through the mountainous terrain under a greying sky filled with even darker clouds. The race against time had begun in order to beat Lockdown to the Decepticon artifact that the Harbinger had been carrying and, as far as they knew, they could be chasing a fantasy conjured up by the deceptive SIC.

Optimus had a trailer attached to him where they were transporting Starscream with the Forger inside as well, in order to make sure the seeker did not attempt to remove his clamps or prepared any surprise to attempt to regain his freedom. Suffice to say the mech had a few grievances with being bound and held at gunpoint but no one paid any heed to it.

Arriving at the site, a sizeable stone arch that rose up into the greying cloudy sky, all four Autobots stopped at that point in their journey and turned to bipedal mode.

"What do you know, he was telling the truth." Commented Bulkhead with a slight tone of surprise.

"It could still be a trap." Arcee still had her doubts on the veracity of the Decepticon's words and wasn't coy on letting the other know.

Walking forward to meet with the others, Optimus attempted to calm his teammate's worries. "Starscream's loyalty to Megatron has always been questionable. If he has truly split from the Decepticons our prisoner's knowledge of their agenda could make him a valuable ally."

It was true, the seeker had extensive knowledge of the inner workings of the Decepticon army. From the Nemesis, which was station on Earth, to the far-reaching corners of the galaxy and maybe even beyond, a new world of inside information could be opened if Starscream was truly serious about joining them.

The wrecker, however, didn't seem to share the views of the Prime. "You don't mean permanently, as in keys to the base and everything?" He said, optics wide in disbelief.

"However unlikely that scenario, every sentient being deserves an opportunity for redemption."

"Even bot killers? Even Lockdown?" Meeting the taller bot's gaze, the two-wheeler sneered in discontent at uttering her enemy's name.

"Without that hope we may never achieve lasting peace."

"Alright, move that aft outside." Doomsday's voice was clearly heard with a clanking resounding sound afterwards.

A lesser known fact about the Makers was that they shared some of the views held by Solarflare. To them, all Decepticons were birds of a feather, the same no matter how much anyone attempted to prove otherwise. After the war the faction lead by Megatron had set off for the control of Cybertron, all Makers had developed an animosity for Decepticons due to the fact of having been driven off their home planet in fear of being forced to join either of the sides in a confrontation that was causing so many casualties.

Now that Doomsday had the upper hand she intended on making sure Starscream knew who was in control.

"Gah, you don't have to shove me." The seeker bemoaned from his place, lying down on his back on the rocky terrain and with both wrists and wings bound by clamps.

Hopping down from the trailed, the orange femme crossed her arms and smirked. "I know, but that would make this far less enjoyable."

"Let's not joke around. We're here, where's the ship?" Arcee asked the cowering Decepticon.

The femme couldn't wait to get her servos on that petro-rat known as Lockdown and tear him into pieces. Having endured having to watch Tailgate be torn apart while still alive, hearing his never-ending screams as he was painfully disassembled, bearing through that scenario while struggling every step of the way until rescue finally came… Her spark longed for retribution. He'd terminated her partner so long ago and now revenge would be hers

Managing to rise to a kneeling position, Starscream looked around until his optics landed on the stone arch. "It's through the arch, among the stones." He pointed out in the general direction.

Looking at the structure that rose high in the air, Optimus carefully thought out the next move. "Bulkhead, Bumblebee, you're with me. Arcee and Doomsday, remain with our prisoner." He said, motioning for the two mechs to follow him.

"Sure thing." The Forger nodded with a way too cheery smile before casually pushing over the seeker, causing him to fall down on his side. "Oops." Shrugging off her action, the femme gave a thumbs up to the Prime. Oh, she was going to have some fun with this arrangement.

"Optimus please." Arcee approached her leader before he could walk away. "For Tailgate." She whispered, a pleading look in her optics.

"Your desire to avenge Tailgate will only continue to cloud your judgement. I'm sorry, but this is a battle you will have to sit out on."

Both Bumblebee and Bulkhead gave a look of apology to their teammate but didn't dare to say a word (or beep). They knew how much Arcee longed to have her revenge but they also knew how rivalries could take over one's processor and make them more careless and, judging by how long Arcee had been holding her grudge, this time it could turn really ugly.

Turning away, the three mechs began walking through the path mapped out by their prisoner. It would have been faster to do so in their alt-modes but the rocky terrain would only delay them in that specific situation, so their best hope to beat Lockdown to the weapon was to make it up on foot.

Arcee could only look as her friends disappeared into the rocky outcrop beyond the stone arch, feeling an emptiness where her spark should be. She knew it wasn't her place to question Optimus' decisions but, even then, words got stuck in her voice box, mostly consisting of pleads to go along with them and, in a smaller amount, complaints on how it just wasn't fair. But, being the model soldier she was, Arcee swallowed it all.

"Is the clamp really necessary? I promise not to fly away, it's giving me a crick." Starscream bemoaned, making the two femmes he'd been left with give him a look that resembled a cross between disbelief and exasperation.

"Yep." Doomsday shoved the seeker forward with her pede without a care, making him struggle to get up once more.

"A little help?"

Starscream was really getting tired of being shoved around by the Forger. She'd already been like that when gleefully binding both his servos and wings and borderline throwing him into the trailer, more than obviously deriving pleasure from seeing him defenseless and at her mercy. He'd even feared for his life when she got into the tight space with him for the duration of the whole ride, her optics promising a whole new world of pain should he move even just to adjust his position. How Decepticon of her, he'd silently mused.

Arcee crossed her arms, indicating her very low likelihood of helping their prisoner who was, once again, back on his knees. "I can shove you back in the trailer."

"I'm not really so bad, you know? Megatron, he's the evil one."

"Tell it to someone who cares."

Starscream looked at Doomsday.

The Forger raised her servos and shook her helm. "I couldn't care even less for you even if you didn't have a weird obsession with my son. He's mine and not yours by the way."

"How is the little one, by the way?" That topic only got Starscream a growl from the orange femme and he cowered in fear, quickly thinking of something else to steer the conversation to. "Erm, well, Lockdown is even worse than any Autobot or Maker. What I wouldn't give to put my servos to his neck cables."

"So, we do agree on one thing." Arcee nodded. Still, he couldn't hate him even more than her, not after those who she'd lost.

"Oh, you have no idea! He showed up one day and next thing you know he's acting like he runs the place! He whispered lies into Megatron's audios, maneuvered to rob me of my rightful place!"

"Well, he terminated my partner."

"What?! He's taking credit for doing that now, too?! That was my doing!"

Now that had taken the femme by surprise. "What? You weren't there."

"Of course I wasn't, I don't know what I was thinking…" Oh scrap, oh scrap, OH SCRAP!

"Ohhhh, this is getting good." Doomsday whispered from her position in the sidelines of the conversation.

Approaching the kneeling Decepticon, the blue Autobot pressed on. "Who are you talking about?"

"No one. Who are you talking about?" Starscream hurriedly responded, his wings lowering so much they nearly touched the ground.

"Tailgate."

"Who's Tailgate?"

A daunting realization dawned upon Arcee. "You were the one, you extinguished Cliffjumper!"

"He what now?!" The Forger exclaimed, almost jumping in surprise. "That red mech we never got to meet? He's the one that did him in?"

Arcee pulled her fist back and readied to strike the bot who'd taken away her partner. That vile creature had actually tried to become one of them, to 'redeem' himself and become a better bot… and she'd almost bought into his act. If she couldn't have her revenge against Lockdown, she would have it against Starscream.

"No! You misunderstand." Grabbing the two-wheeler's other arm, Starscream began thinking up a way to get out of that situation alive and, as usual, begging for mercy and lying came out on top. "The troopers mortally wounded him! I was trying to help Cliffjumper, put him out of his misery! He begged me to!"

Disgusted by the obvious lies and cowardice presented by the cowering mech, the blue femme kicked the Decepticon away onto his back as hard as she could. Cliffjumper would have never begged for mercy, he'd have fought all the way to the end, like the strong and proud soldier he was.

Regaining his balance to stand on his knees yet again, Starscream decided that route of action was blocked. "Okay, okay, it was a mistake! I've made many, but I've changed! You wouldn't terminate a defenseless prisoner, would you?" All he had left was to appeal to that universally Autobot feeling of morality to escape with his spark still inside its chamber.

"Yes, she would!" Doomsday shouted, her tone of voice brimming with anger and disgust. "C'mon Arcee, do it! End it right here before he does any more damage!"

She wasn't an Autobot, and even if she was there was no way she'd allow such a dangerous mech to escape punishment. It was obvious her views regarding Decepticons were influencing her line of thought but she couldn't care less. All she wanted was to see a certain someone pay for all the misery he'd caused… for all the pain and suffering all Decepticons had caused.

The two-wheeler took a moment to gather her thoughts and came to a decision. Grabbing a metal card she threw it onto the floor in Starscream's direction.

"What, no! Just terminate his spark, don't give him that consideration!"

Concerned due to what was happening, the seeker cowered even more behind his arms. "What? What is that?"

"The key to your cuffs." Replied Arcee, her voice steady and firm. Now was the time to finally get her revenge.

"What for?!"

"Cliff would have given you a fighting chance."

"No, please, I don't want to! What's past is past, I'm one of you now!"

"Take it!" The Autobot screamed and took out her blaster, pointing it directly at the Decepticon's helm, ready to fire more than just a warning shot.

Starscream grabbed the card but let it slip between his shaking digits and shrunk more on himself, attempting to shield his frame from the gun pointed at him.

"You're pathetic." She bent down to retrieve the key.

It took only a moment, but then energon was spilled.

The seeker had driven his talons across the blue femme's lower torso as she lowered her guard, breaking his act as the defenseless prisoner and grabbing the literal key to his freedom.

"Arcee!" Doomsday shouted in a panic.

The Forger took out her whip and attempted to strike the seeker, but he dodged just in time and kicked the Autobot into his attacker, causing both crash into the trailer in a heap.

Letting his cuffs drop onto the floor, Starscream was now free to defend himself and more than ready to do more than just inflict a mere injury. If Lockdown was going to go back to Megatron with a weapon he would try and top that with two deceased enemies: one Autobot and one Maker.

Doomsday steadied herself as fast as she could and let Arcee sit against the trailer, worry flashing across her faceplates. The two-wheeler didn't look so good and, while medicine wasn't on her repertoire of experience, she knew that she needed attention as soon as possible in case a main cable had been cut.

Facing Starscream, Doomsday took out her weapon of choice from her subspace "You dirty no-good double-crosser! Hang tight, Cee, I'll get you to Ratchet as soon as I take out this petro-rat!"

Doomsday launched an all-out attack with her whip, making sure to maintain her distance from those dangerous claws. Arcee was in bad shape and in need of a medic, but there would be no chance to open a groundbridge unless Starscream was out of the picture.

The Seeker kept on dodging the blows from the Forger's whip, cursing the fact his wings were still bound and rendering unable to fly away from his attacker. He could try and run away but then he would go back to the Nemesis empty-handed and that would not sit well on his ego. Once he was finished with these two Megatron would take him back with all his privileges fully restored and put Lockdown to the side as he should have done in the first place.

"Afraid of confronting me in close combat, Maker?" Taunted Starscream in an attempt to get closer to his adversary.

"Ha, you wish!" Shouted Doomsday with a snarl. If long-range wasn't working she'd have to dust up her knowledge on close-range combat.

The Maker had begun losing her patience with the seeker and, as such, took on the challenge set out by the Decepticon. It was obvious he wanted to try and deal her a blow like Arcee's, but it was a risk she was willing to take in order to finish this sooner and get the blue femme back to base as soon as possible.

Putting away her weapon, Doomsday launched herself at Starscream, armed only with the rusty knowledge passed onto her by Solarflare.

Hopefully everything would turn out in her favor.

* * *

The three Autobots walked with their blasters onlined, ready to take down any hostiles. Optimus walked at the front, followed by Bumblebee and Bulkhead keeping an eye out on the rear, carefully taking each step as if something was about to jump at them out from nowhere… which was likely to happen with their enemy.

"Be alert, Lockdown is a renowned bounty hunter with many kills under his belt." The team leader warned.

"Right…" Bulkhead couldn't even attempt to fake being comfortable in that situation, he already didn't like 'Cons and now there was a real piece of work among them that could have terminated as many lives as Megatron.

They kept trudging forward among pillar-like structures that extended as far as the eye could see, limiting their range of view and, in turn, making them redouble their effort to avoid getting caught off-guard.

When finally reaching the second half of the Harbinger the Autobots didn't dare to stop, not now when the mech they were pursuing was likely inside that ship and ready to have a go at them at any second.

And it was true.

Lockdown peered from behind the ramp that lead to the ship, a thin staff with two prongs in one of his servos. He'd been there for a while now, rummaging through the many containers of section twenty-three until he had found what he'd been after. The mech had taken the weapon from its eons-long resting place with glee, knowing that the reward for turning it in to Megatron would elevate him to a better status within the Decepticon ranks. Sure, he could try to take it and run, but being stuck in a planet infested with enemies it would be best to ally himself with the big dogs and milk his stay on that mudball for all it was worth.

Turning on the weapon, Lockdown steadied his aim and fired at the Autobot leader, who dodge and fired right back along with the other two Autobots. The bounty hunter managed to avoid being hit, readying himself to try and hit again one of the do-gooders that he knew wouldn't stop pursuing him until they either had him or both him and the weapon.

"I got him!" Bulkhead shouted and ran forward, his blaster more than ready to cause some damage.

Taking his chance, the green and black mech fired the Decepticon weapon and hit home with a single shot, freezing the wrecker in his running position at the base of the Harbinger's ramp.

"The immobilizer, a real piece of Decepticon weaponry." Lockdown smirked at the remaining two Autobots and opened fire yet again.

Bumblebee and Optimus dove behind the tall boulders to avoid suffering the same fate as their teammate, narrowly dodging the immobilizing rays. When they peered from behind their hiding spots, however, Lockdown was nowhere to be seen.

Regrouping, the two looked at each other in wonder as to where their enemy could have gone to, when Optimus suddenly lurched forward and froze up in place, much like Bulkhead.

"Gotcha!"

Quickly reacting, Bumblebee began running to the side and firing onto the Decepticon, who, in turn, began doing the same.

It became a brutal game of tag, each side matched in speed, but only one needed one shot to end it all.

Bumblebee kept on ducking behind every available surface, never once stopping for even a nanosecond, too afraid that it could cost him dearly if he did. He knew that he was outgunned in that fight and that he needed to think up something and fast to get out of there and turn both Optimus and Bulkhead back to normal. Searching upwards he saw a rather loose group of rocks and swiftly his mind began working out a plan.

The bounty hunter, on the other side, was having too much fun playing with the Autobot scout. He'd almost forgotten how his spark raced during a hunt, how amusing it could be toying with his target until they tired out and had no other choice but to face their fate. Death. He was having so much fun, however, that he didn't realize the yellow Autobot had steered him bellow some loose rocks until it was too late and, with a well-placed shot, they were falling on top of him. Of course, he managed to dodge, but a thick cloud of dust settled over and he couldn't see a thing, blindly firing in the general direction the Autobot had been in.

When the dust settled, Lockdown could now see the problematic scout. Frozen. Just like the other two.

"My, my, my, is this the best you all could do?" He laughed. "An oversized wrecker, fit for target practice, a Prime, now nothing more than a decorative statue and…" Approaching Bumblebee, the bounty hunter looked into his optics and grinned. "A scout who will soon become a pile of spare parts." Tuning away he leisurely strolled to face Optimus. "Megatron will shower me with rewards once I hand you all over to him and I'll be set for life. He can do what he wants with his enemies but I think I will take claim on a certain femme. I wonder, if I use this thing to freeze her if her beauty will last forever."

While gloating, however, Lockdown did not notice Bumblebee break his disguise as a statue and quietly walk forward.

The scout inched closer by the second. Nearing just a bit more… That was it. Closer… closer…

A tap on the back and the bounty hunter turned in confusion, only to receive a punch to the faceplate that sent him flying down onto his back. During the fall, the immobilizer fell from his grip and twirled up into the air and, with a final shot, it broke into useless pieces.

"No! Do you have any idea what you just did?!"

A desire to disembowel the scout began emanating from Lockdown, but the mech knew it was a lost cause. He could remain and fight, but if backup were to arrive he'd be outnumbered and would likely lose more than just a weapon. Turning to his alt mode, he began speeding away under a barrage of shots from the Autobot. Next time he would be the one to come out on top, but, for now, he would have to think up a way to survive Megatron's wrath.

* * *

"Now who's the one with the upper hand?! You should have finished me when you had the chance!" Starscream laughed.

The Decepticon swung his claws viciously at the Maker, attempting to reach her sparkchamber, but the femme held on firmly with her arms in a defense position, her stronger constitution from being a Forger helping to absorb the impacts, but the femme knew it couldn't last forever.

Doomsday didn't want it to show, but she was having some difficulty keeping the Decepticon at bay. Solarflare had tried, long ago, to teach her some martial arts and there was even some recollection of others attempting to instill on her some other forms of self-defense, but high-grade had done a nasty job on her processor and deleted many of her older memories. Plus some drugs. A lot of drugs. She was skilled in long-range combat with her whip, alright, but her servos were built to create things, not to engage in physical combat with an enemy.

Making another attempt at his enemy's spark, Starscream launched himself forward and swung his talons hard. Doomsday took that chance to dodge and got behind the seeker, swiping his pedes from under him and kicking him away. She needed time to figure out a plan that involved dealing with his as fast as possible in order to get Arcee to either Ratchet or Solarflare.

The mech swiftly got up and pondered his next move. He knew he had the upper hand in close-range but his wings were still bound. He'd have to dispatch both femmes before either remembered to call for backup or the other three Autobots decided to return from their more than likely encounter with Lockdown.

"This… is for Cliffjumper!" Arcee's sudden shout shocked both parties.

Starscream looked being only to see the blue femme was no longer sitting down, but running up to him, blades drawn and eight after deliver a powerful punch across the faceplate.

Launching an all-out attack, the two-wheeler hit her enemy again and again, not letting him get a chance to regain his balance, and jumped on top of him, sending them both onto the ground. One of her blades was now held firmly against Starscream's neck cables, pressing right up against the vital spot that, if cut, would make him hemorrhage to death.

"Go on, do it! Megatron will only terminate me for treason if I dare return to the Decepticons!" He pleaded with a defeated look. "You may as well be the one to put me out of my misery."

"Yes, do it!" Doomsday shouted, placing both servos on her knees and panting. "End him! For Cliffjumper!"

"As if I needed convincing." Arcee raised her other arm, blade sharp and ready to finish this once and for all.

"What?! Wait! No!" The Decepticon realized his plan had backfired and began pleading for mercy. He couldn't go out like this!

This was it. Finally, after all that time, revenge would be hers and one of their deadliest enemies would be down for the count for good.

Readying to deliver the final blow the femme happened to look up and saw… Bumblebee. With a sad look that seemed as if he was the one she was terminating. Why was he…? No, why was she…? She wasn't like that. She wasn't one to terminate someone in cold blood like some, some… Decepticon. Oh, Primus, what was she becoming? What would Tailgate say if he could see her now? What would Cliffjumper say? She was an Autobot, someone who fought for peace and justice and yet there she was, ready to be judge, jury and executioner.

Getting up on her pedes, Arcee retracted her blades and limped away from Starscream, clutching her side. The pain was flaring up and her pedes were getting unsteady… and maybe her vision was narrowing just a tad? She was feeling rather drowsy all of the sudden.

Doomsday was about to point out the seeker was getting away but, upon looking at the state her friend (they were friends… right?), chose to help instead. Looking up she saw Bumblebee retreat and go back, maybe to go fetch the others, and realized their prisoner would be getting away.

"Ratchet, open a groundbridge, Arcee is down! I repeat, Arcee is down!" The Forger shouted into her comm.

Revenge would have to wait. Even if Arcee had decided it wasn't for her it didn't mean she couldn't do it for her. Starscream would live for another day, but not for much longer, not if she had anything to do with it.

* * *

"You left Starscream to be captured by the Autobots?!" Megatron's rage-filled voice echoed though the Nemesis' control room. "Do you have any notion of the consequences of your blunder?!"

The ex-gladiator was this close to terminating the mech kneeling at his pedes and it took all of his restraint not to obey his baser urges to destroy everything within the vicinity with his fusion cannon.

"But, Lord Megatron, it was due to Starscream's incompetence that we lost the immobilizer. He guided the Autobots right to its location." Lockdown attempted to divert the blame away from himself.

It had been a long time since the bounty hunter had felt truly afraid and the mech in front of him exuded hatred and a promise to offline him with one painful move, making it a truly terrifying situation. He'd had the weapon in his grasp, the Autobots at his mercy, everything going according to his plan, and then… he had nothing. He'd counted on Starscream blabbing about the weapon and leading the Autobots to the Harbinger's second location, making it a perfect trap to deliver them directly to Megatron but that pesky scout had gotten lucky and thrown a wrench into his plans.

"I don't care about some useless trinket!" The warlord bent down and shouted right up against Lockdown's faceplate. "My Second in Command is a prisoner of the enemy, which means all Decepticon intelligence could be at the fingertips of the Autobots!"

Who knew how much information Starscream could have already divulged to Optimus? They'd be able to access the Nemesis' signal, track its location and monitor its every moves… track his every move. That didn't sit well with him, not one bit, and only made the well of rage deep within his spark to keep spewing more and more rage, cursing everyone and everything.

* * *

Back at the base, after a few hours of hard work, Ratchet had managed to fix the Decepticon weapon and unfreeze both Optimus and Bulkhead, while Solarflare worked on Arcee's and Doomsday's injuries. Silverbot and Mayhem, being the strongest ones available, had went back to the Harbinger and brought back the two frozen mechs at the medic's request due to his fear that Starscream could return with extra firepower.

The Maker leader, meanwhile, had done her best, first patching up the blue femme due to her more pressing wounds, and then making her way over to Doomsday, who insisted on shrugging off her injuries as mere 'paintjob scratches and minor dents' to her friend's chagrin. The Forger didn't get far anyway, having been forcefully dragged back onto the medbay table in order to be properly tended to. After her job had been done, Solarflare broke off from the others, who'd gathered in the main room, to have some alone time, wishing everyone a good night before departing.

"The damage looked bad but it was a snap to repair, allowing us to reverse its effect on you." Ratchet held the newly-repaired weapon in his servo and proudly presented it to Optimus. "You should regain your full range of motion before long."

"And Arcee?" The Prime asked, looking into the medbot's optics.

"…She's rather resilient, for a two-wheeler."

Arcee had remained slumped over after being patched up, choosing to focus on the ground rather than facing anyone else. Silverbot had tried to coerce her from her somber mood, followed by Radical, who now sat close to her in an attempt to offer some sense of comfort, but neither had much luck in getting the femme to talk. She seemed to be lost in her own world of thoughts, going through what had happened over and over while wondering 'what if' multiple times at all moments of the fight that had ensued.

Walking up to the femme, Optimus looked down and could almost see her convoluted thoughts. "It is external wounds that heal the quickest." He said in a soft tone.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you." Silverbot kneeled down in front of his friend but didn't dare touch her, almost as if his touch could disintegrate her.

Finally looking up to meet everyone else's gaze, Arcee slowly shook her helm and palmed the place where Starscream had almost mortally injured her. "No, it's fine. I thought settling scores would allow me to move on, instead I chased away our chance of winning this was any time soon."

"Wisdom cannot be granted, Arcee, it must be earned. Sometimes, at a cost." The Autobot leader reassured her.

"…So… what happened to Starscream?" Mayhem asked.

"He is gone, likely having been picked up by the Nemesis. If not, then we have no idea where he might be headed. "

"Well, there's still one thing I don't get. Why didn't you finally get your revenge?"

"I thought we'd agreed revenge wasn't the answer." Radical pointed out to the confused purple and white seeker while motioning to Arcee from behind her back in an attempt to kill that topic right there.

"Seriously? It seems pretty good to me."

Approaching his friend, Bulkhead put a hand on her shoulder. "Mayhem, now's not a good time."

"Listen to Bulkhead. Just… let it go. At least for now." The triple-changer asked his sister, knowing that particular them shouldn't be discussed in front of Arcee.

"What? Just saying I don't get why offing old Screamer wasn't so good besides not getting intel on the 'Cons."

"You and me both." Doomsday added.

Silverbot shot an angry look to both femmes, making them shut up and letting an uncomfortable silence settle into the main room. He knew why his sister and the Forger were confused as to why revenge wasn't all that good, in fact he was too but also understood the Autobot's point of view, and for now the best they all could do was drop the subject and forget about it. Maybe later he could talk to them and try to clear up some questions, although he wasn't so sure he could make them understand like he did.

In the end a Decepticon did not change their colors, but neither did a Maker.

* * *

Solarflare gazed up at the moon, letting its light shine down upon her frame. Some nights she couldn't recharge, so she resigned herself to either looking up at the ceiling of her room or, in situations where she had a lot on her mind, going up to the roof of the base and letting her thoughts wander.

Airachnid had refused to open her mouth when confronted with Lockdown's presence on Earth, merely looking to the side with a resigned expression while the white and green seeker dished out a lecture worthy of a Mayhem level act of conduct. It wasn't as if Solarflare had wanted to go in, guns blazing, and start to spell out what was wrong with withholding information from her, but things had gotten out of hand and now the reclusive spider-femme could become even more closed out to the world.

"Victory, my sweet and lovable bondmate, how I wish you were still among us." Solarflare let a low sigh escape from her lips.

Her bondmate had always known what to do when a fight broke out between friends back in the day, always willing to be the mediator between the parties and seeking out a solution that pleased everyone. The triple-changer had been so kind and caring it was a surprise that he was able to inflict as much damage as he was capable of uttering mending words.

"It would be such a huge difference to have someone with your experience to help us against the Decepticons. Surely, you would have defeated Megatron on the first try and have had energy to spare to take out half the Vehicons on the Nemesis afterwards."

He had been strong. Stronger than anyone in all of Cybertron for that matter. It hadn't been on her plans to fall in love with him but that strength, both physical and emotional, lured her in so quickly in one of those moments of realization that bots around you care more than you ever realized.

"Silver… he also misses you. I can see it clearly that mech lost his Sire too soon, we all can, and there's nothing I can do to patch up that hole in his spark. But, you know, I think he's found someone. Maybe. They're friends but we can only watch, no interference from the audience as we're used to saying."

The gentle giant Solarflare was proud to declare to be her son had to mature too soon in the wake of his Sire's murder, forced to bear the fact that life was all too unjust for those who only wanted the best for everyone and fought for what was right. His optics had opened to the rigged caste system with a loud bang and a metaphorical stab to the spark with his loss and so he grew up to help take care of his Carrier and, later, his sister. She still felt bad for never having given him the joyous sparklinghood she'd had, only a workaholic Carrier and a dead Sire.

"And Mayhem is, well, she's still upbeat about everything, even during the worst times. Solus, how I wish you had met her. She's just so like you, never giving up, always striving to surpass herself and really eager to put up a good fight."

Her not-so-little one ball of pure energy had done so much growing, both on Cybertron and on Earth. Solarflare could still remember when Mayhem was still a sparkling, her optics shining with so much curiosity and willingness to go out and explore the whole universe, even when the odds were stacked against her due to her origins as a Maker. The sparklinghood had went by so fast that, before the older seeker knew, it was in a blink of her optics that her daughter was taller than her and the days of picking her up and wiping the tears from her optics were gone.

With a final sigh, Solarflare turned her back and began walking away, her helm downcast and expression unreadable. Thinking about this matter didn't do her any good, she already felt guilty enough for what she'd done to dishonor Victory's memory at the servos of a would-be tyrant.

A final whisper permeated the silent air. "How I wish she was yours, my dear Victory."

* * *

 **AN: *drops da bomb* Well, how do you like it? I did consider having Starscream be kept prisoner but well... I'm just that lazy... sorry. IF you are wondering why I made Bumblebee turn back is because I assume he was worried Lockdown would return with backup.**


	35. Life and times of Solarflare

**AN: Yay, I** **'** **m back with an update! I** **'** **m so sorry I took an unannounced hiatus but my mental health took a dive and I couldn** **'** **t find it in my to keep writing. Unfortunately I'm still not 100% recuperated and cannot be sure of when my next update will be. In the meantime please take this monstrosity as an apology.**

* * *

"Who's my precious little gem? Who is?"

"Me! Me!"

"That's right, you are! You're the cutest most adorable sparkling in the whole world."

Marmoreal loved Solarflare. Her little sparkling brought her the joy of her greatest dream, being a Carrier. For a long time she'd had almost everything she could ever want: friends, a lovely hab-suit, credits raining from the accounts of very influential mechs, a job she exceled at… but having a sparkling had always been that one goal she'd never lost sight of. Call her old-fashioned but it was something that, to her, completed her life and brought it all together. Having someone to share the amazing life she'd amassed for herself somehow couldn't not make sense.

"Keep that up and she's gonna have an ego bigger than yours." Doomsday warned with a laugh and leaned back on her chair.

The Forger watched the pearlescent seeker with silvery accents lean back on the chaise longue while holding up the smaller version of herself, but in a white and green scheme, and wondered how in all of Cybertron her friend was so good at being a Carrier. It seemed like a click ago Marmoreal was, well, a sparkling version of herself and now… How time flew by.

"Since I am indeed hot and an all-around great femme it's safe to say my ego is just about right." Marmoreal grinned and brought Solarflare back down to her lap. "And she's gonna be even more beautiful and smarter than anyone in the whole district."

"I have to say, I never thought I'd see the day with you all settled down and with responsibilities."

"I may have a little one to take care of but you'll never see me settle down, I'm still ready for action."

"By the way, did you ever figure out which one of your clients gave you that little miracle?"

In the Maker district there was an age-old question that could go from harmless to a red flag alert depending on the situation: 'Who's your/the Carrier/Sire?'

Many Makers had abandoned their old lives behind, including their parents, and set off to a new life with nothing but a few personal belongings. Reminders of what they used to have could be an emotional blow to them. Some left because they wanted a better life, others because of a mistake that cost them everything, but there were a few that really did not want to think about who'd brought them into existence. Bastards. A slip here, a blunder there, and suddenly a sparkling was brought into the equation. Sometimes only one parent wanted them, in a few occasions neither, and most ended up Makers, be it by their own volition or by being abandoned with the first Maker that showed up.

Luckily, for little Solarflare, her existence had been planned.

"Nope and I honestly couldn't care less." The pearlescent seeker smiled at her little ray of sunshine and caressed the cutest faceplates to ever grace Cybertron. "Miner or Senator, low or high caste, it's all the same thing in the end. I wanted a sparkling and I got one free of hassle and of a Conjunx Endura. It's the dream, I tell you."

"And now, the ladybot of a thousand broken sparks, the fairest in all of Cybertron with her lovely frame, please welcome Marmoreal!" Came the excited voice of a mech though the speakers.

Throughout their conversation the two femmes almost forgot where they were: surrounded by other 'workers' and dancers in the backstage of one of the many bars that the Maker district was known for. All around them femmes laughed and dolled up, ready to meet the workday with their best fake smiles and adoring false praises, all in the name of getting the most credits from the accounts of whatever wealthy mech walked through the door of the establishment.

"Woops, speaking of commitment, could you commit to watching Flare until I get back?" The seeker stood up and offered up her daughter for Doomsday to take in her lap.

The Forger reached up and took the sparkling with a wink and a smirk. "Go get their credits, Silver."

Solarflare watched her Carrier wave rushed a goodbye and run out of the room, not understanding where she was headed without her. Just as she lost view of her the sparkling began tearing up and making reaching motions with her servos to the closed door.

"Don't worry, little flame, she'll be back in no time." Doomsday attempted to pacify the restless seekerlet.

"No!" It was at that moment Solarflare began sobbing even harder and attempting to wiggle out of the grip that held her in place.

Not wanting to cause a scene the Forger quickly thought up an easy solution. Hopefully it would work. "I know somewhere where you can see you Carrier."

Getting up the two retreated back into the dressing room, something the sparkling got alarmed for and almost began crying again, and headed out through a different door and up a few stairs into the upper floor of the bar. The path was poorly lit, with just a few weak sources of light overhead illuminating the way, but the Forger had made the short trip enough times that she could do it without the help of her optics.

It was hard for Doomsday to keep the sparkling in her arms from fidgeting, so she had to keep whispering 'there, there' and lightly bouncing the small femme up and down until they reached a door with 'do not disturb' written in clear bold words.

The orange femme knocked before opening the door and stepping inside. "Hey, Tapwire, mind if we come in?"

The room was brightly illuminated by a multitude of screens on the farthest wall, no other forms of illumination present beyond that. Wires littered the unoccupied walls and even the ceiling and a large desk went from one wall to the other parallel to the only door that lead outside, cluttered with many keyboards and the odd empty cube of energon. The chair behind the desk faced the screens while its occupant oversaw the happenings showing on the screens but when the Forger had stepped inside it quickly turned to show an average stature mech with a deep green and red paintjob.

"Well, who do we have here? Isn't she Silver's?" He said with a wide smile and motion for them to come closer.

"Yep, but she's missing her Carrier so I brought her here to see if I could calm her down." Doomsday searched adjusted her grip on the sparkling and pointed at the main monitor were, on stage, Marmoreal dancing and singing while a cheering crowd encouraged her. "Look who it is."

"Carrier!" Solarflare immediately perked up at the image shown to her and attempted to reach out, clenching her little servos as if to grip the moving image.

"See? She's just working a little bit and before you know it she'll be right back."

"Pretty!"

"Yes, she is." The Forger wholeheartedly agreed that the pearlescent complexion with the silvery accents suited her friend beautifully.

That was the first time Solarflare, unconsciously, realized beauty was power and happiness. Her Carrier had it and so would she. When she was all grown up there would be no shortage of friends and money because she would be just as beautiful as the femme dancing draped in nothing but some fabric and jewelry.

* * *

"I want you to teach me!"

"For the love of Solus, what are you doing here?!"

"Like I said, I want you to teach me everything about the medical field."

"Out, now! Wait until I'm done!"

Solarflare had no idea why interrupting a surgery in her attempt to gain some knowledge of the medical field had seemed right in her mind right before she burst in through the doors. She'd been desperate enough for a good while now, reading and re-reading all the datapads she could get her servos on to try and absorb the biggest amount of knowledge possible in the shortest amount of time.

Time… now there was something she did not have much of.

The femme leaned against the wall inside the Forger's "shop", helm low in contemplation of her impending defeat at the servos of the laws of the universe. Everyone would have to become one with the Allspark at the end of it all, but just thinking that her Carrier would be doing so at any moment tugged at her spark in a way that made her want to curl up and deny it all.

"What was that for? You could have cost me a client with that stunt you pulled. You were lucky I was pretty much done." Doomsday interrupted the younger seeker's introspection as she headed towards her while wiping her servos with an energon-stained cloth.

What the Forger had been doing was a very delicate work that required a steady servo and focus, hence why she had been only mildly intoxicated during the procedure. She'd almost even spilled her cube of mild high-grade on top of her tools when the little spitfire burst in through unannounced.

When becoming a Maker many preferred to change their designation in order to start anew, others decided to add a coat of fresh paint to their frames but, the rarest of all, some wanted to completely change how they looked. Changing a frame from a seeker to grounder or the other way around was extremely intricate and time consuming, a steady supply of energon for consuming and replacing in case something went wrong was always needed to be close by and the patient would have to remain in bipedal mode for quite a while before even thinking of using their T-Cog.

The young femme looked down at her servos and clenched them. She'd wanted to be able to help to badly she'd almost put someone else at risk. "I'm sorry but…"

"Your Carrier is sick and you want to help her."

"Yes."

Marmoreal was sick, had been for a while now and would likely not be getting better any time soon, at least not with the type of care the Maker district could provide. If she was high-caste there was an almost certainty that she would have already have received the best medical care Cybertron could provide and have the whole ordeal put behind her back, but not even all the credits on the planet would get any reputable doctor to help.

"I figured as much." Doomsday sighed and shook her helm. "Look, I don't know what you've been told but I'm not the best for you to learn from."

Solarflare made a face and took a step forward. She needed someone who knew the ins and outs of a Cybertronian frame, and who better than someone who worked whit it for a living? "Why not? You are always implanting mods on any bot that comes to you."

"Call it intuition or whatever else but I never studied medicine in my lifecycle. It's something I was sparked with, like any other Forger, and it can't be taught. Also, I wrecked my processor beyond repair with high grade and continue to do so. I honestly cannot remember anything before my adulthood and that is something to really be scared of."

"But I could be your assistant and learn by watching you." The seeker attempted to press on. She had to do something to help her Carrier.

"For the love of… Just, listen to me, ok?" Great, tearing someone's dreams apart was not on her list of skills. Where was the high-grade when she needed it? Oh, right, she'd already drank it all. "Do you want to be a medbot?"

"Yes."

"Then you've got to study and learn the traditional way. The best you could learn from me is how to improvise and feel around for what you hope is the right wire and not a fuel line."

Helm hung low once more, the white and green seeker felt her spark drop as she let out a sigh of resignation. "So… you can't help me?"

"No, sweetspark, I can't."

The District was already in dire need of medbots and even more ones with current medical knowledge. It was a rare occurrence that one chose to take up residence as a Maker due to the fact the profession was highly respected and well-paid, two things Makers were definitely not. Some would say it could be easily counted with one servo or two the bots that had, in the past, moved there as resident doctors.

Iacon was the city to go to if someone wanted to take on the challenge to become a fully certified medbot and they most certainly did not accept Makers as students, just like any other place in all of Cybertron with any reputation to uphold. Up to that point no one had dared to defy the rule in fear of what could happen to them in what was pretty much enemy territory. Rich bots who flaunted their credits and reputation only mingled with Makers for one specific reason and any of them would deny involvement with someone of a lower caste under any circumstance.

"I'll- I'll see myself out." Solarflare turned away with a short wave.

"Flare wait-!" The door closed before Doomsday had a chance to say anything else, leaving the Forger with an outstretched arm reaching for thin air. Regaining her composure, she crossed her arms and turned away, wishing for enough high-grade to help out through that situation.

What was a femme to do? Say everything was going to be alright when it was obviously not the case? She'd learned a long time ago wishing for a better life was useless, it was best to resign oneself to what they already had and count themselves lucky to be as free as they were. Hopefully Solarflare would see the way and enjoy what little time she had with Marmoreal before the older femme became one with the Allspark.

Outside, a young triple-changer that appeared to be much older due to his height had patiently waited for his friend to come out with hopefully good news but, when spotting her coming out looking so downtrodden his fear was confirmed. He knew how important Solarflare's Carrier was to her but also that Doomsday wasn't exactly the best to go to when ailed with a medical problem. It was already a wonder that femme could walk in a straight line, much less perform frame modifications in her perpetually inebriated state.

"So, how did it go?" He already knew the answer but a part of him clung to that tiny piece of hope things would turn out alright.

"She can't do anything and I can't either unless I become a medbot."

"I'm sorry. I wish there was something I could do to help."

"No, it's not your fault." It was hers. "I just have to find a way to get accepted into the Iacon Medical Center training program somehow."

Victory couldn't believe what he'd just heard. "You can't be serious?! You're really willing to go away for so long and risk getting found out as a Maker?"

"You're willing to throw your life away in the gladiatorial arena."

"How did you-?"

"Word travels fast." It was almost impossible to keep a secret if one was a Maker. Everyone knew each other and had extremely loose lips when high-grade was involved. "You're too young to offline."

The two had been friends for most of their lives up to that point and hadn't considered what to do if one of them were to suddenly offline even before being in the prime of their lives. They seemed to form an odd pair but their friendship ran deep. She was a petite seeker with a drive to do any and everything and he was an imposing triple-changer who preferred to keep to himself and went against all stereotypes. They'd been born in the District, both without Sires, grown up raised by hard-working Carriers and saw in each other the support to keep on dreaming of better lives for themselves.

"We're too young for almost everything but I know if we set ourselves to it we can carve out our future just like we want it to be." Pausing for a moment, the mech thought on what to say next. He was willing to offline if it meant more credits to create a better life for everyone else, more than willing in fact, so what gave him the right to deny the femme's dreams? She would have to wait for a while to reach a certain age before applying to the Iacon Medical Center and did he really want to spend that time upset at her for wanting to follow her dreams? "If you want to be a fully certified medbot then I believe in you."

Placing a hand on Victory's arm, Solarflare smiled and nodded. "I believe in you too then."

Her Carrier would pass away of a sudden spark failure before Solarflare could even begin to try to get accepted into her medical training but she would only set herself more into being able to make a difference.

* * *

Solarflare missed her Carrier. She missed her every time she looked at their old pictures together, when she looked at the clothing and jewelry left behind by the pearlescent femme that had brought her into the world, but, most of all, she just wished her Carrier could have seen how beautiful and witty her sparkling had become.

"Read 'em and weep, ladybots." The white and green seeker showed her holo-cards to the table, prompting a wave of groans to follow up.

"Aww, scrap."

"Solus damn you to the Pit."

"Glitch, please, your luck shouldn't be this good."

"Frag me, I just lost what my last job was worth."

The complaints continued as the younger femme was swift to cash in on her more recent win with a wide grin on her faceplate. Her funds were growling larger as time went by and, soon enough, she'd have saved up enough between Praxus Fold 'Em games and helping with random jobs here and there throughout the Maker District to go to Iacon and, finally, become a fully-fledged doctor.

At the table currently sat Caterwaul and Curtaincall, a set of pastel pink seeker twins, who were on a break imposed by Stagefright, their currently elusive trine leader, Parallax View, the closest thing around to a psychologist, Encore, a bartender who was also on break, and, of course, Solarflare. The femmes had all gathered up in the backstage of the bar for a not-so-friendly game of Praxus Fold 'Em with bets that could stop the spark of a regular Cybertronian worker, a regular occurrence among them, and all the older ones were amazed at how the youngest had played them all with such ease.

"Always a pleasure to play with you all but, if you'll excuse me, I have to go." Solarflare picked up her energon cube and downed the rest of the high-grade, pausing only before getting up to look at her holopad where was displayed a good sum of credits she'd amassed so far.

Curtaincall laughed as she leaned on her elbows. "I know that smile, you're off to see your special friend."

"For the last time, Victory and I aren't doing anything… yet."

"Ah, young love." Parallax View pretend swooned and put an arm around Encore, bringing them closer. "I remember the first mech I scammed with that one."

"I remember the first TWO I scammed with that one." Caterwaul grinned and joined in the laughter.

"Pfft, show-off."

"Yeah, I'm amazing."

While the femmes got distracted and began comparing conquests, both old and new, Solarflare took the opportunity to step out of the conversation and began heading out. She'd heard enough of those pseudo-contests to know they would be occupied for a while trying to one-up one another with the best or even craziest story.

It was going to be Victory's first match in Kaon's gladiatorial arena and he'd invited her to come along and watch his attempt at making a name for himself among the ranks of some of the most dangerous bots in Cybertron, something he'd admitted to be nervous about and in need of some moral support. The triple-changer had left much earlier in order to prepare himself and size up any of his possible opponents but Solarflare had chosen to stay behind a little longer in order to make some credits to bet in his favor. Obviously she hadn't told him anything and would likely hold onto the information for a little while, mainly as to not put unnecessary stress on the poor mech's spark.

"Hey, Flare! Heading out already? The party has barely started." Doomsday popped seemingly out of nowhere to block the seeker's path of retreat with a grin on her faceplate and, not so surprisingly, two cubes of high-grade, one in each servo.

"I'm going to see Victory's first fight in Kaon and I don't wanna be late." Solarflare side-stepped her friend in an attempt to resume her exit, but found herself blocked once more. Suppressing a groan of irritation, the white and green femme hoped to Solus the interruption wouldn't take long.

"Good for you. If he wins there's some good revenue coming our way, if he loses…" The Forger trailed off before shrugging and going back to her perky state. "Yeah, right. Who am I kidding, the mech's a triple changer and he's trained like the Pit for this. Go enjoy your date."

"I don't think watching a gladiatorial fight qualifies as a date when your partner is one of the participants."

"Then enjoy your not-a-date."

"I'll try, but I'd prefer if the threat of coming out of there offline wasn't one of the possible outcomes."

"Just promise to show him a good time after and, trust me, he'll give it all to win."

"What is it with everyone pushing us together? We've been with other bots and it wasn't like this." Solarflare complained while throwing her servos up in the air.

The two of them had been friends since they could remember but as time went on they found themselves being pushed in each-other's direction more and more frequently. As sparklings no one made remarks as to how they would look cute together or anything of that type but as their adulthood came closer and closer the comments began showing up until they sort of became part of the background noise. At first the remarks had been annoying, but… was it just her or had Victory start to become… handsome? Appealing? Pleasing on the optics? Oh, Solus, he was, wasn't he?!

Doomsday winked. Solarflare was so easy to rile up when Victory was involved. "Please, you two were made for each other. He really balances out your crazy."

"He's wagering his life but I'm the crazy one?"

"You challenged me to a drinking game."

"In my defense I was already drunk when I did it."

"So was I, but still won anyway."

"Whatever, I'll see you later." Solarflare walked past the older femme, giving up on the conversation. She had a fight to get to and a spark to calm down.

"As if. You're gonna be busy with your mech, I just know it." The Forger began downing one of her cubes of high-grade, back turned to the departing femme, content in her successful self-imposed mission to get a rise out of Solarflare.

"No, I won't."

The first time Solarflare had patched up Victory had been in one of the private rooms beneath the Kaon arena, hidden away from prying optics curious to get a glimpse at the triple-changer that had made his way into the gladiatorial circle.

* * *

"Ouch!"

"Sorry. You won't stay still, what do you want me to do?"

"I don't know, maybe be careful with that welder?"

Solarflare had found herself amazed at the size of the city itself and how poor its inhabitants seemingly were. Wherever she looked it was obvious that everyone was of low-caste, their dirty and scuffed appearance making it more than obvious, and she thanked Solus she'd had the discernment to wear a cloak that hid her frame from prying optics. Presenting as a Maker outside of their area could be very dangerous since it attracted all sorts of unwanted attention, especially for a young pretty femme like her.

Getting to the arena hadn't proven much of a challenge, neither had it been to get inside, although her smaller size almost got her trampled over a couple of times by bigger, brawnier mechs, the kind one could see working non-stop in the mines or in any other sort of low-level line of work, anxiously waiting for their next breath of freedom. It was weird to see so many low-caste bots packed into one place, desperate to enjoy any sort of entertainment, but all Solarflare had to do was stick to her seat and avoid drawing any sort of unwanted attention to decrease the chances of a confrontation.

The fight had went spectacularly. The crowd went wild as soon as the triple-changer stepped onto the arena, clamoring to be shown a duel filled with spilled energon and enough action to appease their thirst for violence. There hadn't been a bot of that type in Kaon's gladiatorial circles in a long time and the bets soared the up until the very last moment, credits pooling in the most part for a mech that was supposedly the height of combat evolution.

Most of all, Solarflare had felt fear for Victory's life when the fight had begun, but a small part of her rushed with excitement seeing her friend give his all to survive in a fight against a mech that was clearly more experienced, even when lacking the size the triple-changer had to his advantage. In the end, luckily, no one had offlined and Victory was able to rise up as the winner of the match, causing the crowd to erupt in a multitude of elated shouts.

"Who's the one going to the Iacon Medical Center here?" The white and green seeker finally managed to finish her patch job, stashing away her welder back into the folds of her cloak.

Pausing for a moment to process what he'd been told, the triple-changer thought on what to say. "So… you're really going through with it?"

"Yes. You already knew it."

"I knew you wanted to go, but… You're going to be gone an awful long time."

"But it will be worth it. I have a chance to become a fully-fledged medic. I could be the first Maker-born bot to get a license."

"That really is a big thing."

"Yeah… Will you miss me?"

"Stupid question, of course I will!" He would miss her every waking moment, counting the time until she came back safe and sound. "You never stood in the way of my goals, even knowing survival is far from guaranteed in the arena, it's only fair that I don't interfere with your plans."

Placing a servo on top of Victory's, Solarflare looked up into his optics and offered a smile. "…I like you too."

Everything would turn out alright. He would go on to become the best fighter in all of Kaon and she would defy all stereotypes and become a great medic. She was sure of it.

* * *

"You are all here because you chose to enter this profession but heed my words: over half of you may quit because you don't have the tank to do what it takes in this field. You'll see things that you've never dreamed of in your worst nightmares and I swear I won't let even one weakling get past me. Are we clear?"

No one in the whole room dared to say anything, all of the Cybertronians too afraid of the professor in front of them, his expression one that promised pure a tortuous experience.

"I said, are we clear?!"

"Sir, yes, sir!" The students responded, fear evident in their optics, wondering how they would survive the journey to become certified medics.

The first moments and Solarflare already felt like she didn't belong.

Wonderful.

* * *

The teachers were brutally demanding, the classes filled with incomprehensible medical jargon, the cycles short on resting time and the classmates each one more absorbed in their studies than the other. All but one, at least.

"Is this a medical text or a dictionary? I can't understand half the words in here." Pharma complained he leaned forward in the table of the mess hall.

"Neither can the rest of the class. That's why we have to study like the Pit." The femme answered with a smile as she stared into her datapad.

The two Cybertronians had met a short while after entering the Iacon Medical Center having met for the first time during a trip to the archives for some supplementary information and had struck a quick friendship.

Pharma hailed from Rodion and was the offspring of two successful medics who worked at the Deltaran Medical Facility, hence the motive why he'd ended up in Iacon: to follow in the footsteps of his Creator and Sire. That alone had gotten Solarflare to instantly understand his reasoning and to begin asking a lot of question, mainly what it was like growing up surrounded by such great bots and the inner workings of the system she hoped to enter one day. Pharma didn't shy away from the avalanche of questions, as a matter of fact he leaned into it and was glad to explain all the doubts his new friend seemed to have, after all, he was just as enamored with the profession of medic as much as she was.

They began seating together during class, helping each other study whenever they had time available and, as they were currently doing, sharing a few sips of energon while working on their projects.

"Help me out here, if a patient exhibits the symptoms shown here what should I diagnose them with?" The mech waved his datapad in front of Solarflare's faceplate with a pleading tone.

Cracking a small grin at how absurd her companion was being, the femme gently pushed the datapad aside and set her own down. All that work was more than definitely getting to them. "Death. That's the description of a frame shutting down."

"Really? Scrap, I really need to study harder and- Ohhh, look at that mech over there."

Turning around she stared for a few seconds at the yellow and blue bot walking away and out of the mess hall. When he was out of her viewing range, Solarflare turned back to Pharma. "I just looked. Is there a point to this?"

"Of course! He's the best on the entire Academy and easy on the optics to boot."

"Not to mention he's pretty popular among the student body and the teachers."

"Exactly! Then why aren't you trying to snag him? Over half of us are and no result so far, why don't you give it a try?" Pharma leaned forward and pointed at his friend. She was more than cute enough to have good odds at winning any prospective lover over.

"Because while I find him very attractive I already have someone back home."

"Really?! You never said anything. What are they like? Are they also studying to be medics? What's their favorite color?"

"How did we just go from talking about him to talking about my partner?"

"Because. Now talk."

It hadn't been easy describing Victory in the vaguest terms possible when it came to his appearance, but Solarflare couldn't stop talking about his kind and caring personality or the way he made her spark pulse.

She wondered how he was doing back home or even at the arena. Had he found someone to patch him up properly? Did he win many matches? Was he still training to the point of exerting himself and in need of someone to berate him to get some rest?

Dear Solus, she missed him.

* * *

"I passed!"

"Same here! We're going to the final exam!"

* * *

"You won't be going to the final exam."

"What? Why?"

When Solarflare had been called into the office of the highest authority of the Iacon Medical Center, Red Alert himself, she had a mini spark failure. What would he want with her? Why was he calling up on her during her final time of being a student? Had she done something wrong and not noticed it? Oh Solus, had she blundered her latest exam so bad he took it upon himself to berate her on how she couldn't tell an exhaust pipe from a hole in the ground?!

Thoughts clouded Solarflare's mind as she had walked in a hurried pace and stopped only when in front of the imposing door that led into the so called 'chamber of horrors' from which nothing good could ever come out of. No! She had to calm herself down and think properly! Her grades were splendid, her demeanor always polite and, not to brag, she was always one of the first to answer any questions during class. Willing her cooling fans to slow down, Solarflare put on a smile and strode forward into the den of the so-called 'beast'.

The smile had promptly fallen from her faceplate in an instant as soon as the door had closed behind her.

"Because we train medics, not Makers." Red Alert leaned back on his chair and crossed his arms. How something this serious had gotten past him he would never know. The absurdity of a Maker even getting the courage to step into his school was something that could be used against him in the long run of things.

"How-?"

"I cannot divulge that information. You are to leave the Academy and never to return."

"But I'm so close." The femme pleaded with the mech behind the desk. She did not wish for her dream to die when so close to completion. "I am among the top ten students, I always followed the rules and no one ever filed a complaint against me."

"I don't make the rules, Solarflare, and Makers are forbidden to take on the profession of medic."

"Makers are forbidden to take any profession!"

"I want you out of here by the end of the cycle, take your things and go back to where you came from. Count yourself lucky this doesn't go to the Council on account of who your Carrier was. Even after her passing her name still holds power over some influential bots."

"But I-"

"That was an order."

"… Yes, sir."

Solarflare couldn't do anything else but lower her helm and quietly exit the office all the while doing her best to hold in the torrent of tears that threatened to spill from her optics. Her spark felt like it was in a vice grip of an unseen force that refused to let go, tormenting her with its taunts on how she had failed her one and only goal in life.

It was then that she saw her best friend in all of Iacon standing there, looking like he'd been waiting for her, but something seemed off. The mech didn't have his usual smile on, nor did he make any attempt at comforting her. Come to think of it, how had he known she would be there to begin with?

"I see you are leaving. Good." He said without the slightest tinge of emotion.

No… He couldn't have been the one to… She'd done everything to burry any and all evidence of her background and never mentioned any names. Still, if he had found out how could he have ratted her out after all they had went through together?

"Pharma… You… why? Why did you do this to me?"

"Makers aren't allowed in here." The mech replied unflinching as if it was the most obvious thing in all of Cybertron.

"But… I thought you were my friend."

"I was. Until I wasn't."

It would be the first time Solarflare got to know certain bots hid parts of themselves and tucked them away deep inside their processors, dark and selfish desires blooming under all false pretenses until they finally emerged and took over a bot.

She should have learned her lesson as she made her away back home, every step of the way too distraught to look back and agonizing over what had been lost.

* * *

Returning home with an incomplete education had taken its toll on Solarflare's psyche more than she would ever admit to.

Upon taking her first steps back into the Maker District everyone had greeted the seeker with open arms and offering to throw numerous parties in her honor, that was, until she admitted she'd been found out and expelled due to her origins. The congratulatory welcomes had quickly died down shortly afterwards and an aura of uncomfortable silence abated over everyone, no one knowing what to do or say to comfort the femme for her broken dream.

It seemed that Solarflare had been ready to throw her dream away until one of the few (unlicensed) medbots in the District came to her and pleaded that she go to the only Maker clinic in existence and teach everything she'd learned while in Iacon. That had quickly revived the fire in Solarflare's spark and made her realize she might not have been granted a legitimate license but could still make a difference for a lot of Cybertronians. Setting up a an intensive course for everyone willing to learn became her top priority and the thing that consumed most of her time after going back home.

Solarflare then began to go out more, socializing with all the ones that had been left behind while she went to study, participating in activities like gambling more frequently and even taking up some stage time at the same bar her Carrier had worked at in the past. Citing her job to bring in new hope for the injured and sick as concluded, she took began behaving more and more like Marmoreal, or at least what she remembered she'd been like while alive. Everyone could sigh in relief at how fast the white and green femme regained her confidence and how her pool of energy seemingly expanded as time moved on, their worries melting away in sighs of relief all around.

But not all the bots around her shared in on the sentiment.

"Sainted Solus, you sure put on a show tonight!" Doomsday exclaimed as she placed an arm around her friend's shoulders and pulled her closer.

Solarflare laughed and returned the gesture. "I sure did. One of my best so far."

"I thought that after you came back you'd hole yourself up in the clinic but I'm glad I was wrong. I swear you weren't this fun when you left."

"I just learned a bot has to enjoy life while they can, the present becomes the past way too fast. I gave the clinic workers all the knowledge I got but I'm not ready to be a full-time medbot yet."

"Does that mean you're up for drinks later?"

"Solus yes, give me the good stuff and I'll give you a good time. Victory says he doesn't like it much when I drink but what's a Maker without a drink or two in their system?" The seeker winked and extracted herself from the Forger's hold to remove her adornments and put back on her armor.

"That's what I wanted to hear! See you later, I'm about to go on stage! You sure are a lot more fun this time around!"

"What can I say? If having everything I want is wrong I don't want to be right."

The seeker managed to change outfits by herself with no problem, by now being used to where things attached, and began re-armoring herself. Looking around she could see many Makers going about their businesses, be it checking in on how much they had earned from their latest clients, preparing themselves for looking their best or just resting in spread out groups and talking about the latest news. Solarflare found herself feeling content in how her life was going at that moment. She had everything she could ever ask for, even if a medical certification was not one of them, along with great friends and a great life, what else was there to be had?

Bidding her goodbyes to the other femmes backstage she exited the bar and stepped into the calmer streets. At that time there weren't many bots walking around, be them clients or Makers, as the recharge period had more than set in and would soon give way to another period of work.

The walk back to her home was uneventful to say the least, that was, until she found a certain triple-changer waiting at the door.

"Victory. What are you doing here?" She asked, confused as to why the mech was visiting her so late. Their relationship wasn't exactly officiated but there was something between them that made a connection beyond a simple crush.

"Could… Could we talk?"

"Well, yeah, I don't see why not."

With a sigh, Victory prepared himself for a conversation that could change everything. "You've been a little, I don't know, distant since you came back?"

"Distant, me? We've been spending so much time with each other, I've went to a lot of your fights and you're almost always here when everyone gets together."

"I know but…" He didn't want to lose her but he couldn't keep quiet either. "This isn't you."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I mean, all of this, the constant working, drinking, gambling, chatting up clients, you barely did it before you went to Iacon and now it's like all your life was always about all of those things."

The gladiator barely recognized the femme he'd said goodbye to with their first kiss. It was like someone else had returned in her place, someone who'd taken in the personality of Marmoreal and combined it with the frame of his old friend to create yet another Maker replica that came a credit a dozen wherever he looked. It wasn't as if he didn't like all the other femmes in the District, but he'd grown attached to Solarflare's old personality over time and the sudden change made him wonder of he would too be left behind in the wake of this change.

Feeling the spirit of what her Carrier had taught her so long ago under attack, Solarflare got defensive pretty fast. "Well, maybe it was like that, but bots change. I changed. I want to enjoy everything my Carrier did, to be happy like she was."

"But you were happy. We were happy." Victory pleaded as he looked into the optics that used to give him shivers all throughout his frame. The silence permeated the air as the smaller femme didn't say anything else and he couldn't do much else than try to reason with her. He missed Solarflare but it was her choice on what to do. "If you keep this up I can still be your friend, but that's it. No matter how much I love you I can't be bonded to someone who I can barely recognize."

The triple-changer didn't even bid farewell as he walked away, helm hung with a weight of sadness holding onto it. He missed her more than he could ever say but if he tried to push it would only drive away the femme he loved so dearly and he would never forgive himself if he hurt her.

Solarflare could only stare as the mech she loved disappeared the streets of the Maker District and left her alone and feeling so… empty. She was beautiful, popular and had a great life, just like her Carrier had. So why wasn't she feeling so happy anymore?

* * *

Standing in front of the dojo, Solarflare let out a sigh as she prepared herself mentally for what she was about to do.

The building stood out from all the others around it in its smaller size and out-of-place design. There were stairs that ascended to the main diamond-shaped entrance surrounded by columns engraved with designs depicting Cybertronians practicing several styles of combat, a slanted undulated roof comprised of a number of layers with transparent teardrop ornaments hanging at each corner and, weirdly, a sign hanging from above that read 'Free advice'.

It hadn't been often that Solarflare had passed in front of the dojo and, when she did, she'd barely paid any mind to it. That place wasn't exactly one that sparked her interest and there was exactly zero swapping of credits that took place in there, so another reason as to why the femme had never paid any mind to it, but now it could very well hold the key for guaranteeing her future with Victory didn't go up in smoke.

Gathering up her courage, Solarflare climbed up the steps and strode forward into the dojo.

The inside was much simpler when compared to the outside. When walking in one would find themselves looking at the center of the building, a small green sunken sparring arena which was surrounded by a pure black walkway. On each corner of the room were blue holographic statues on top of metallic pedestals depicting generic-looking faceless Cybertronians performing different styles of combat, their poses shifting every few minutes, some striking with weapons, others with their bare limbs. At the far wall was a mass of very comfortable-looking pillows of various colors from garish to drab, creating a mix that would make any artist clutch to their spark in anguish, piled up in what appeared to be an imitation of a head place for the master of the dojo to sit and appraise the students demonstrating their skills.

"Excuse me…" Solarflare trailed off, unsure if there was actually someone in there.

"Yes?"

"SAINTED SOLUS!"

An indigo and amethyst colored femme had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, a relaxed smile gracing her features, although it might have sported a twinkle of mischief from the scare she'd given the seeker. She was clearly a two-wheeler but her frame seemed bulkier from the combat-styled armor and an older model to top it all off, although every part of her looked very well-maintained and polished to the point of giving off a sort of aura that gleamed with every move.

"Pardon me, I didn't mean to frighten any newcomers. I am called Lariat, the mistress of this dojo." The voice flowed calmly like a river from Lariat, mellow and soft, almost like she was speaking to a sparkling that had just come into the world.

"I… I was wondering if… You see I have a problem and others have said great thing about you… What I'm trying to say is…" Words evaded the seeker as she stumbled across them like a maze. Pausing for a moment, Solarflare made another attempt at explaining her presence. "I need help being myself again."

"So you are not yourself?"

"I am but at the same time… There's a part of me missing but I don't know which is it. I need your help to find it."

"Ah, I see. Many bots have come to me with the same problem. Not as many as I would have hoped but still a good number of them."

"Really?"

Lariat walked up to her pillow 'throne' and sat down cross legged. She leaned back and closed her optics for a brief moment, lacing her digits together and rising her arms up in the air, enjoying the feeling of her frame stretching and relaxing. After her relaxation exercise, Lariat made a motion for Solarflare to come closer and take a seat right across her with an almost lazy motion.

The seeker took the invitation extended by the two-wheeler, although the scenario seemed a bit weird to her. She didn't doubt (that much) the proficiency of the older femme, but the whole scenario seemed odd to her. This was supposed to be a master of the highest caliber according to several accounts relayed across the Maker District, but if she was so experienced, what had she done to end up in the moral gutter of Cybertron?

"At a certain point in any Maker's lifecycles they begin to, for lack of a better term, change." Lariat began her explanation. "Not many realize it, they just blend in with the background a lot more easily, but those who do have two choices: to go along with it or try and fight the current. Not many choose what you did, preferring to go with the easier option, and I don't blame them. This is a harsh life we Makers have, we never fit in with the normalcy around us and yet we find ourselves rewarded with the ability to be ourselves."

"So, does that mean you'll help me?"

"I will, but I will also teach you the art of Crystalocution."

"Crysta- what?" Solarflare made a face at the new word. She wasn't even sure she'd heard it right.

"Crystalocution. It is the cyber-ninja art of taking down your opponent by striking their metal fracture points. I know you already have studied thoroughly to become a medic and as such are a perfect candidate for this. After I am gone you most likely will be the only one in the district that will know it." Seeing Solarflare's optics widen made Lariat smile. It reminded her of her younger days when she was but a new student, eager to explore all the possibilities life had for her. "I see it in your optics, you wonder why. Just like a past love I grow old and soon my time shall come. And I want to shove in every bot's faceplates at the Cyber-Ninja Corps what a Maker is truly capable of. Consider it settling an old score. I also know your love is Victory. Quite an ambitious mech, aiming for the top at the gladiatorial arena, but I believe he would feel more secure if you knew some sort of self-defense."

"So… vengeance?"

"And a little bit of pride, yes. Cyber-ninjas aren't supposed to do selfish things but I'm not one anymore."

The white and green seeker smirked. Now there was something she could most definitely understand. Her Carrier had told her once that doing thing out of spite could be one of the most motivational things to do. Proving someone wrong, rubbing it in their faceplate how a bot could push past their limits and aim for something in the spirit of an unspoken bet… It could light a fire in anyone's spark.

"Why are we all here if not to show that pretentious Council that we are more than our primary function and caste?" She said, eager to begin her new training.

* * *

Ever since meeting Lariat, Solarflare had not regretted her decision to go to the dojo and try to improve herself. She felt better, calmer, more aware of herself of the ones around her and, most of all, of how close she'd been to losing Victory because of the downward spiral her behavior had been taking. He'd made some comments on how she seemed to have lost some of that static energy that made her not want to stop for long and seek any sort of thrills, usually gambling or drinking.

Speaking of, oh how she had almost drowned herself in high-grade was astonishing! How could any sane bot order a drink while barely having finished their first (or tenth!) one now baffled her instead of giving her that rush that usually ignited the energon in her fuel lines. She still partook in the not-so-normal normalcy of the District's activities, but in a much more moderate way, along with having went back to the clinic to continue pursuing her dream of helping others, and had found a balance she never had thought to be an option in her life.

Everything seemed to have settled into a routine for her, although sometimes Solarflare demanded too much of her frame and ended up too tired to go home. In those instances Lariat had promptly provided her room as a place for the seeker to rest for a while, a quiet place just behind a crimson curtain that hung on the right wall of the dojo. The berth was just another pile of pillows, but they were oh so soft Solarflare couldn't find anything bad to say about the accommodations.

It had been during one of her stays due to overexertion that the white and green seeker had found herself unwittingly eavesdropping on a particular conversation between her teacher and an unexpected guest.

"I knew I'd find you here." Came the voice of an unidentified mech through the piece of fabric.

Solarflare moved slowly and gently pushed just a touch of the curtain aside, curious to see who was visiting Lariat and- Solus taker her! Was that Yoketron?! As in head of the Cyber-Ninja Corps Yoketron?!

"What do you want?" Lariat crossed her arms and raised her chin in a display of animosity towards her visitor, her famous calm smile replaced by a light frown that appeared to hold more anger than it dared to show.

"I would… like to apologize."

"For what, exactly? For kicking me out of your life? Or because you lied to me?"

"For everything."

"Apology not accepted. Get out of here and out of my life. For good, like I thought you had done before."

The cyber-ninja let out a sigh and made another attempt at swaying over the femme's affections. "I… acted in a manner for which there is no excuse. I realize now that what I was doing was wrong. I should have never pushed you away but I was too focused on the path to fully master processor over matter that I lost sight of someone that meant a great deal to me. Someone who encouraged me not to give up so many times in the past."

The two had been close as students, brought together from day one as friends in a room full of young recruits, all of them eager to start their journey into the dojo. Yoketron had doubted himself as capable of becoming anything other than average but Lariat managed to encourage him all the way to becoming tied at the top of their class with her. He had always wanted to repay the favor and never ceased to always push every other student to succeed even in the most adverse times, a sort of tribute to the femme's kindness that he had been bestowed with.

Not long after graduating, the two had taken up fully sponsored residence at the dojo by their then master and trained even more arduously, mastering every technique and every weapon there were available. It had also been during this period in time the two Cybertronians had become lovers, hidden away in the shadows of their rooms, worried that they would be pulled apart as to not create attachments that could be seen as hindering to their progress. All those stolen kisses behind everyone's back, the times they had promised to come clean when their master was no longer in charge of them… all gone because of the glimpse Lariat had of Yoketron's true self.

It had been a regular sparring session that somehow got extended until after-hours, when nobody else was around but them. Neither wanted to back down and show an opening for their opponent to strike, so they had kept going until having been interrupted by a determined 'excuse me'.

A young mech had seemingly been able to bypass all security measures and found himself inside the main room of the dojo, the clear symbol on his chassis showing he was a Maker. Hyperline, that had been who he'd presented himself as, stated that he wanted nothing more than to become a student at the dojo just like his late Sire had been and make his memory proud by being able to go back home fully educated. In her opinion, Lariat had thought the sentiment was very sweet and even considered putting in a good word with her master so that Hyperline would be accepted in the shortest amount of time possible. Yoketron, on the other hand, hadn't share her sentiment.

'Leave and do not dare to desecrate this sacred place with the presence of your kind ever again. I will remove you by force if I have to and have no qualms with breaking every joint in your frame.' Those words, having come from the mech she'd loved so much, shattered her spark. How could he say that?! She thought every one willing should be given a chance to follow their path despite their origins. When had Yoketron become so… so like everyone else.

Oh, how couldn't she have seen it? He was just following what he had been taught and she had been too preoccupied to see what really happened around her. It was standard practice, to give some preferential treatment over others just because of their caste, but being high-born had given her the privilege to step above many others and she just assumed they hadn't been there to begin with.

That had been her first step in the amethyst femme's journey that would lead her outside of normal society. A path that would cut her ties with everyone: family, friends, her master… even with Yoketron. Not that he seemed too sad to let her go when her views were exposed to all the others. Now she really knew who he was.

"The damage is done, isn't it?" Lariat remarked, not convinced at all with the explanation. She would be damned if she let herself fall for that caring farce once more. "Nothing will be able to turn back time and right those wrongs, nor will this excuse of an apology revive what we had. After all this time you come back here expecting me to forgive you for breaking my spark?"

"Those mistakes I cannot undo, but I can still give you your old life back. I have trained many of the Elite Guard and, as such, I have been granted a pardon in order to bring you back with me. You could become a teacher, just like you'd wanted back in the old times." Yoketron took a step forward but didn't dare go any further. Things could get ugly and Lariat's proficiency in the martial arts could still be very much there.

"I AM a teacher and I'm just fine here."

"Surely you jest. These are Makers, incapable of ever achieving the level of a true cyber-ninja. Come back with me and I promise to treat you with the respect you deserve."

"…Out. Get out. NOW."

"Lariat-"

"I SAID NOW!" The femme screamed and pointed at the door, her expression one of pure rage. "How can you promise change when not even you are capable of it?! Leave me and my dojo alone, I would never betray my students for the same old lies everyone spews outside of the District."

Yoketron paused and looked at his old love. She still looked as beautiful as he remembered but the time they had spent apart seemed to have warped her mind and she was now too far gone to save. He felt his spark clench at the thought of going back without the one who had once made him feel so much, but there appeared to be no other way. "I see. You have become blinded to the true path. I am afraid it is too late to change your mind."

With his last words, the cyber-ninja turned around and left, helm shaking slowly in disapproval of the choice Lariat had made. It looked like their time together had come to a close, their once dream of a love-filled life cast into the shadows of the past forever.

Lariat sighed and let herself fall down into the pile of pillows, wondering what had she done so wrong in her life to deserve the fate that had befallen on her. Times were easier when she'd been younger, but also clouded with ignorance of what society truly meant for those that weren't so lucky to be born high-bred.

"I know you're still in there." She said, closing her optics and leaning back.

Solarflare almost jumped in fright, but managed to contain herself. Could she be in any sort of trouble for having eavesdropped on the private conversation?

Pushing the crimson curtain aside, the seeker came forward and approached her teacher. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine." Lariat waved a servo and shook her helm. "You have done nothing wrong, unlike that old bucket of rusted bolts."

"Was he-?"

"Yoketron. The one in charge of training the Cyber-Ninja Corps and even a few in the Elite Guard. Wise as they come but also blinded to the truth of our system."

"It sounded like he was in love with you."

"He was. Still is, for some reason." Why couldn't he have given up on her like she'd given up on him? What gave him the right to come in there and dig up the past? "Broke my spark a long time ago because of the same lie that drove me here."

"You still like him."

"Unfortunately, I do. Emotions are as confusing as they are empowering. The mind may let it go but the spark will always hold it close."

Love… Love was a force stronger than anything on the entire universe, Solarflare realized. It made bots do wild things in search of it and go against everything when they were sure they'd found it. She hoped one day Lariat could find it in her spark to love again. She also realized that, while that sentiment could hurt deeply, it could also empower someone to rise up and above everything to hold it close to them.

She knew what she wanted to do, it was clear at that moment, but she never expected the fall that was to come to be so painful.

* * *

" _Victory, will you do me the honor of becoming my Conjunx Endura?"_

" _Did you just propose to me? Right after patching up an injury that you called, and I quote, 'careless and idiotic'?"_

" _Do you want me to do it again?"_

" _Shut up and kiss me."_

* * *

" _Congratulations, you're gonna be a Sire of a little mech."_

" _You're joking?!"_

" _No."_

" _Can I kiss you right now?"_

* * *

" _I think the little one is ready to greet the world."_

" _Right now?!"_

" _Shut up and kiss me for good luck."_

" _Right now?!"_

" _For the love of Solus, if you value your life, YES!"_

* * *

"She's ready to see you now." The nurse said as she gestured towards the room where Solarflare had just performed the greatest miracle of all.

"She said she'd pull my still-beating spark from my sparkchamber…" Victory, however, was too busy thinking about the obscenities his sparkmate had shouted at him as the tugs on her sparkchamber got stronger with every pull.

"Her and everyone else who's ever bore a sparkling. Now go in before I become the one to do it."

Eep, scary nurse alert! "Yes ma'am."

Stepping inside the small room nothing could have prepared the gladiator for what he was about to see. There, lying on a medical berth, with a smile that could light up all of Cybertron and its moons, was Solarflare looking very exhausted but also very proud of herself. Of themselves. She was holding a small bundle with extreme care, cooing softly at it and caressing it with the points of her digits with the pressure of the lightest feather in all of existence.

Victory was so awestruck in the first moments it took his lover to look at him and motion for him to get closer to break the seemingly magical spell that had overtaken his frame. Stepping forward he approached the berth and looked down to see the most precious sight that had graced his optics in his entire lifecycle: a little bundle of grey with tiny appendages and hints of red and black in a few select spots. The bond was immediate, a soft tug at the triple-changer's spark and his love for the little Cybertronian in front of him was set for life

"Well, hello little mech. It's really great to finally get to meet you in person." Turning to Solarflare, Victory smiled. "He looks so much like me."

"Yes, he does." The femme agreed and then nodded towards a datapad lying on the table beside the berth. "We never reached a consensus on the name. We need to fill out that form over there with it."

"You name him. You did pretty much all the work, besides, I'm not that sure on what the name should be either."

"Silver. Silverbolt." She answered without hesitation. Her Carrier would have loved him just as much as she'd loved her, there was no doubt about it, even if Solarflare had went with the traditional route and gotten a partner.

"That sounds like a great name. Let me just…" The triple-changer picked up the datapad and began typing with a smile. And… there. Now all he needed to do was- wait a nanosecond. "Oh, woops. How do you change these things?" He turned to Solarflare with a sheepish expression.

"Why?"

"Well, funny thing, I accidentally wrote Silverbot. My digits are way too big for this thing."

"Leave it."

"What?"

"Leave it. I like it. It's got a little of both of us in it."

* * *

"Sainted Solus, what happened to you?!" As usual, Doomsday had the tact of a rock when it came to delicate situations. Entering the room she quickly sat down on one of the chairs and gazed intently at the barely recognizable Cybertronian.

"Where do I start…?" The purple and black femme with appendages sticking out of her back leaned back in her seat across from her friends and crossed her arms. Remembering the reason that had led to her radical makeover still sent resounds of phantom pain all throughout her frame. "To sum it up I went along with a stupid plan and got left behind by my so-called best friends."

"Still, what could have caused… This." Solarflare, unlike the Forger, managed to keep some decorum and poise.

Just about a joor ago the white and green seeker had received an unexpected visitor at her home while looking after Silverbot. Victory had went to train for a little while, so he'd been spared the sight of a ragged-looking spider-like femme asking to be let in in a familiar tone of voice. At first Solarflare couldn't say why this strange bot called her by her name until the visitor revealed her own and was promptly pulled inside to be sat down and served something to refuel.

It was borderline impossible to believe this purple and black femme who had arrived out of nowhere could be the same one who'd once entered in the Maker District on a dare of her Academy friends. Someone who'd thought nothing much of the kind of bots that lived in that area until invited to sit down and have a drink to relax and have fun upon being spotted alone and rather confused as to where she was headed, thinking her to be a new arrival.

Some awkward time later of sitting on the living room of Solarflare's house sipping some energon Doomsday finally arrived after promptly being commed and that was how the three femmes ended up reunited. But that time the spider-femme would likely not be heading back out of the District.

"Archa seven."

"What's that? Some type of virus? I swear I didn't do it!" The Forger immediately put her arms up in a panic.

With a 'duh' expression, the visiting femme shook her helm and let out a sigh of exasperation but let it slide because the orange femme was more than likely a little more than intoxicated. "It's an organic planet not far from here inhabited by giant organics. You can tell what they look like by my state. I had enough trouble getting here as it was."

"But won't anyone notice you're missing?" Solarflare asked. Certainly someone already had noticed that she hadn't returned alongside the others.

"The old me is presumed offline, my signature apparently changed when I was infected by the organic venom so no one would be able to tell who I was previously to looking like this. There was a rescue party and this new form is stealthy enough for me to have snuck on board and back to Cybertron without being discovered. After that I had to move quietly in the shadows from the capital and all the way up to here."

"Solus, you must be exhausted."

"I am. Luckily in here they don't judge by appearances so I already got some energon in me when I came in the District before looking for you two."

"That's good to know. So, now wat do you intend to do?"

"Well… I was hoping you'd have some space in the district for me. I'm willing to work on anything."

"Eli-"

"Don't call me that." It was too painful to hear her old name. "That naïve femme offlined the moment she was left behind by her former friends on an off-limits organic planet."

"So, what would you like us to call you?"

Pondering on the matter for a short while a name immediately popped up in the femme's processor. "…Airachnid. Yes, that sounds fitting. From now that'll be my new designation."

"And what about your intended? You always sounded so cheerful when you talked about him. Would you like one of us to go tell him you're still alive?"

"No. He never liked Makers and I never told him who my other friends were. It's best that I forget about him and he about me and, if there's any chance he won't, I'd rather be remembered with love than repulsion."

"We'll be here for you." Doomsday winked and nodded.

"Yes. Both of us will always stay beside you no matter what." Solarflare comforted Airachnid with a kind smile.

"Thank you."

"Hey… have you met my little Silver?"

Later, when Silverbot took his first glimpse at Airachnid and immediately after began crying, the spider-femme wasn't as repulsed by her appearance anymore. Sure, it would take a while for her to feel comfortable in her new frame but, if she learned anything when a while later she could make the little mech laugh, all she had to do was own up to her looks and project her personality beyond the outside. She would become the confident, unapologetic and everything she'd been told wasn't a trait fit for a good cadet back at the Academy.

She would finally become herself.

* * *

" _Take care, don't let your guard down."_

" _I never do, especially since my little mech will be watching for the first time."_

" _I'll be rooting for you, Sire."_

* * *

" _Behind you!"_

" _NO!"_

" _SIRE!"_

* * *

" _The shot went right though the spark, he offlined instantly… I'm sorry for your loss."_

" _Is he gone?"_

" _Yes, sweetspark… he's one with the Allspark now."_

* * *

" _Is there a vacancy for an extra worker? Full service."_

" _You know you don't have to do this, right?"_

" _Victory was a major provider for the district, I want to help any way I can."_

* * *

" _Megatronus is here… and asking for you."_

" _Tell him to meet me in my usual quarters."_

" _Flare… Good luck."_

* * *

"I'm sorry for your loss."

Out of all the things Solarflare had expected to hear when the new champion of Kaon's gladiatorial arena stepped into her room, his condolences for her Sparkmate's passing were low on the list.

She was constantly reassured that she'd done more than her part by having passed her knowledge down to a collection of bots willing to take on the job of medics for the District, but she couldn't let herself pause and allow her time among her friends to pass without doing her best to help. Sure, they had new doctors with up-to-date knowledge thanks to her, but there were always credits to be earned that could help them get actual equipment that was up to par with what they were able to do. So, there she was, working just like many others, even though it always seemed to cost a part of her spark to pretend she felt anything towards all the mechs that came to her.

The femme had stepped into that room countless times by that point, all of her own volition, but it never seemed to get any easier. This time was supposed to be just like all previous others, but she'd been caught off-guard by the words uttered by the new Kaon champion.

"Wha- What? I- I don't understand." She could only stare with wide optics at the mech that towered above her, her knee joints trembling, and it took all her willpower not to fall back and sit on the plush bed, clutching her aching spark at the mention of her fallen beloved.

"I'm here to express my condolences due to Victory's passing."

"You are? But why? He's been gone for a while now."

"Yes, well, at that time I was still a mining slave and only now I have been able to buy my freedom. I was not allowed to go anywhere else beyond the mines and the gladiatorial arena."

"Oh…" Solarflare brought up a servo to her faceplate and walked a few steps so that she had her back turned to her visitor, shame welling up in her. "I had assumed you were here for something else."

The mech turned around to face the femme he'd come to visit, his spark heavy with sadness over the fact someone like her had lost their Conjunx Endura. Hadn't they already lost enough respect when they came into this world? "I could tell, your smile was perfect but your optics reflected the sadness I am well-too accustomed to."

Megatronus knew what it was like to pretend everything would soon get better, that the sadness welling up in one's spark was only transitory and that better times were to come, even if it was an idea that seemed impossible to achieve. He'd spent most of his life chained down by tyrannical bots that saw him as nothing more than a slave that could be easily replaced and no more worthy of value than the dirt beneath their pedes, so he'd taken up a "side-job" as a gladiator in hopes of being able to buy his freedom, even if it implied he could be offlined if something went wrong. He was well-aware of what some bots would do to provide themselves a better life and, as such, did not think any less of the femme in front of him, in fact, he saw her as someone worthy of respect.

"You're the first mech that's been able to tell, or, at least, the first to say the truth."

Placing a servo on the seeker's shoulder, the mech attempted to comfort her. "You should not be doing this."

"Yes, I should." Solarflare shook her helm and crossed her arms. "Victory was number one at the arena and, as such, his revenue was quite high. Now that we've lost a main source of income and we all have to pitch in to help any way we can. I won't let his dreams of a better life for us all to be extinguished."

Silverbot would have to grow up without a Sire but she'd be damned if she let that fate fall on anyone else. From that point on the arena would not be one of the option to make credits for anyone. She had to watch the gruesome sight of her lover and would not allow history to repeat itself with some other poor bot in her place.

"That is one of the reasons I am here. I would like to give you a share of my winnings from this point on."

"What?!" Now it was her that turned around but with wide optics, disbelief clearly seen etched across them. "You can't be serious! You would do that for us?"

"More than willingly." Megatronus nodded with a smile. "Victory inspired me to become more than what I was perceived to be. Many only saw a brute but he never proved to be one. The audience demanded to be entertained and he only did as they wished. Also, I saw you at many of his fights. You cheered for him in the stands in the front row, every time with an encouraging smile, that's how I knew who to come to."

"He always managed to convince me to go, even to mend him afterwards."

"You loved him."

"More than anything else."

"Promise me that as long as I donate a share of my winnings you will not continue to do this. It is clear you do not enjoy it like the others. Victory would not want you to smile when you feel the opposite."

"Thank you. For the credits, the understanding… for everything. Please, let me repay you." Solarflare gently gripped one of the tall mech's servos and slowly pulled him along, guiding him toward the bed.

Was it her or she truly felt comfortable to do that with someone else besides Victory?

Megatronus' expression had instantly turned to one of surprise and his voicebox seemed to disconnect from the rest of his frame. He moved along until he faced the bed and was turned around and pushed, his knee joints hitting the piece of furniture, prompting him to sit down on the plush surface.

Attempting to find his voice, the gladiator thought on what to say without making a fool of himself. "You do not have to-"

"Shhhh." A digit placed to his faceplate was all that it took to silence the mech once more. "I want to. I'm a Maker, there's little ways I know how to say thank you to a stranger."

Solarflare began climbing onto his lap and gave the mech a soft smile. She didn't know it then, but it was the first real one of many that were yet to come.

* * *

Sometimes she wondered why her life had turned out the way it did.

Her sparklinghood had been a happy one.

Growing up had been a marvelous time. More than enough playtime with all the other sparklings that would eventually age alongside her to become great lifelong friends, never having wanted for anything she couldn't have, always enough energon available to keep her satisfied and an attentive Carrier that would do anything to see her smile.

Her Carrier had been so beautiful, so majestic, both in and out of her work. Mechs threw their lifesavings at her just for a smile, maybe for the briefest brush of a kiss. A true conqueror of sparks all throughout Cybertron, allowing both Carrier and her sparkling to live comfortably and helping others who weren't as lucky. She'd been fearless and strong, holding her ground and morals above all else and rising above all expectations for someone of her status.

Solarflare remembered all the times she'd been brought backstage and watched patiently as her Carrier shed her regular armor for flimsy pieces of fabric and all kind of jewelry, almost every single piece a present from a love-struck mech who'd though to get himself a chance at gaining her affection.

Never once had Marmoreal been ashamed of what she did, professing it to be a job as any other, one that required dedication and relentlessness to become the best overall, the most desired and coveted. She'd been the true embodiment of perfection in little Solarflare's optics, a femme who looked out for her family and friends but also did her best to maintain her place at the top.

The inflow of information and blackmail was at its peak when the pearlescent femme had been alive, no mech able to resist her charms, be they in her words or in more intimate setting than a conversation. She had no match for beauty and wits in all of Cybertron, femmes envied her and mechs wanted her, period, with no room for disagreement.

With the premature death of Marmoreal a gloomy timeframe settled in the district. Everyone knew who she'd been, everyone had nothing but positive thoughts to express about one of the best earners they had ever met. She was a wonderful femme, some would say. The most beautiful and kind bot you'd ever want to be around, others whispered mournfully.

Beauty was supposed to represent the gateway to happiness, to having the best possible live one could way, so why had her Carrier passed away at her peak?

Everyone working in the district always seemed so happy despite what they did and their status as outcasts. Now she knew the truth was merely coated in a thick layer of high-grade. While her friends laughed, danced and sang, oblivious to their predetermined fates, she'd chosen to go against the current. Lariat had helped her see the truth to all there was but that revelation didn't kick her down, not when Victory had been there to brighten her world and even less when her precious sparkling came as a result of their love.

When Victory was offlined per the Council's orders a part of her went along with his spark. She felt broken afterwards, as if she was drifting in a meaningless void, and her few consolations were the friends that had stuck around to help her glue the pieces of her spark back together and her son. Her beautiful Silverbot that looked so much like his Sire in every way, except for one: he refused to have anything to do with fighting.

He was the combination of her Carrier and her bondmate, named in memory of the former and a living memory of the latter.

Her son shouldn't have seen that. The first fight he'd ever witnessed was supposed to reassure him of his Sire's strength, to make him understand he was the strongest of all and nothing could a determined triple-changer. Nothing except for a gunman dispatched by the council because of maintaining the Makers from dreaming of being treated like normal bots. She felt the sadness well up every time she remembered there had likely not been a main reason as to why her love had been terminated.

It was just because they could, those fraggers at the Council who did not give a damn about anyone below them, about someone who'd struggled and fought throughout their entire life because a made-up caste system determined they were worth nothing.

Life had, once again, taken on shades of depressing grey and pushed her to her knees, refusing to let her up for the longest of times. She'd thrown herself into work, hoping it would drown her sorrows and dilute them to a point she no longer felt anything, but it seemed to have the opposite effect.

Until she met him. Megatronus.

The gladiator captured her spark with such ease one could almost say Victory had reincarnated though him. He'd embraced every part of her with open arms, including young Silverbot, who he'd even vowed to protect and guide away from ever wanting to step into the arena of Kaon.

All those kisses and moments together, the whispered sweet nothings and promises of a future together blurred together and created a blanket of happiness that made her so content to have found a reason to believe that life without Victory didn't have to involve sparkache every time she thought back to the life they'd shared together.

Maybe she'd only deceived herself by seeing her new love with her optics blind to what he actually was.

But those words had always gotten her to smile and completely forget her worries. Her downfall had been three simple words.

" _I love you."_

Even if they came from a mech who would cause so much pain and suffering, who would be kicked out of her life when she found out the truth and regretted ever entrusting her spark to such a monster. Who would become the reason for her planet to die out along with countless innocent lives.

" _What would you like to call her?"_

"… _Mayhem."_

And who would unknowingly give her another reason to keep on living.

* * *

 **AN: Good? Bad? Too rushed? Let me know!**


End file.
